unknown love
by katie minnie
Summary: This is a major Sam/Chris fanfic! Chris has disappeared and Sam tries to cope with his absence, and maybe even...save him? Oh the adventures she will face. Please, no flames! :D
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Monster Buster Club or any of its characters[unfortunately] =D

Author's Note: This story takes place mostly at the MBC Clubhouse, and it is about how Chris and Sam actually feel about each other, and what would happen if they were ever separated. Chris has disappeared and Sam tries to cope- and maybe even save him....Without further adieu, I present to you: _"Unknown Love"_!

"_Unknown Love_"

Chapter 1:

Samantha slowly trudged up the rusty, metal stairs of the clubhouse attic. Yes, the Monster Buster Club was still together; well, in a way. It had been about 4 years since the club had been formed- and about 2 years since _he_ had been gone. Sam groped around in the pitch black darkness for the chain to turn on the light. She found it and clicked it on- scanning the room while doing so.

"Boy, Cathy wasn't kiddin' when she said her and Mr. Smith hadn't cleaned up here in forever.", Sam stated looking around again, chuckling to herself.

Her laughter died down as she remembered the reason she had ventured up here in the first place. Setting her probities straight again, Sam moved old cardboard boxes out of her way, reading the labels searching for the box she was seeking for. At the moment, Sam was alone in the club house- Danny and Cathy were out somewhere in town. Sam had no need to accompany them- it's not like they were out busting aliens or anything. There hadn't been an alien report ever since...._he_ had disappeared. This means that Danny and Cathy were probably on another one of their dates. They had been going out for quite a while now since the Octovore showdown. The thought of love caused a new wave of fresh guilt washed over Sam. In a feeble attempt to brush it off, Sam hurried to finish her search. There it was: the old photo albums box. With shaky hands, Sam slowly opened the box up. There were several different books to choose from, with several different numbers in them.

"1st year, 4th year, 3rd year, Sam softly murmured to herself, until she finally came across it. "2nd year" she whispered to herself. It was the year _he_ was taken. The last time any of them had seen him. It had been her last chance. Her hands rested on the cover of the album, as she took a deep breath. She took a comfortable seat next on a pillow- back to the wall. Sam's brain urged her hand to flip open the cover. She just couldn't do it. She had been avoiding anything that had to do with him over the past few years. She had been avoiding _him_. Guilt- it can do wonders. Finally after taking another deep breath, Sam threw open the cover. The first thing she saw were the eyes. They were _his _eyes- bright blue, like a sunny day with no clouds in the sky, and full of hope. Most of all they were full of ….life. After finally breaking out of her trance, Sam mustered up the courage to turn the page. This one was a little bit easier to look at. It was a group shot of all of them- together.

"Ah, the good old days", Sam breathed, a small smile spreading on her face. Just then, something in the photo caught her eye. Sam's heart skipped a beat. He was standing next to her- and his arm was wrapped around her waist. He must've moved it there right in time for the flash. She hadn't noticed a thing. Sam felt her face begin to get hot all-over, a then a tear dropped on the page. Then came the sniffles. Sam lifted her head towards the ceiling begging the tears to silently slip to the back of her head- quietly unnoticed. But, of course, they did nothing of the sort. They came down harder, and faster, until there was river down both of her cheeks. Sam began to sob. She begged her self to stop- to shut-up and ignore what she was feeling. Just then, a pair of soft footsteps quietly approached the top of attic. Sam knew those footsteps. They belonged to her best friend. Turning her head towards the stairs, she saw Catherine Smith poke her head up.

"Oh my god", she whispered, covering her mouth with both hands- staring at Sam.

"Cathy", Sam managed to choke out between sobs.

"Shush, Shush. I know. It'll be okay", Cathy said pulling Sam into a tight comforting hug.

"NO!", Sam screamed. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!", her sorrow and guilt turning to anger and guilt.

"I don't understand what Sam?" Cathy asked, a little startled by the sudden outburst.

"IT'S ALL MY FAULT!!", Sam screamed at the top of her lungs, hurling the book across the attic. It smacked against the wall with a loud thud. Sam ran downstairs to her room. Since the _three_ of them spent so much time together now-a-days, they all decided to just move into the old clubhouse so they wouldn't ever have to leave each other. They were all each other had now. Sam slammed the door closed to her room and cried into her pillow. Then it came.

_Flashback:_

_It was a beautiful Friday evening. Sam, Danny, and Cathy were all strolling to the cities for some ice cream after a hard day of some serious Octovore butt-kicking. _

_"Man, that was one huge granny Octovore!", Danny commented, slightly chuckling_

_"Yeah, but we took her down like she was a kid!" Cathy said and grinned at Danny. He returned the gesture. Sam didn't say much. She knew Danny and Cathy liked each other whether they wanted to admit it or not. There was just one thing that kept bothering her. _

_"Hey guys, what do you think granny Octovore exactly meant that we would meet again before nigh falls?", Sam asked. She was a little concerned. Last time they were warned by the Octovores, it resulted quite badly. _

_"Awww, c'mon Sam! Lighten up a little, would ya?" Danny smiled. "Didn't you see how bad we busted them? They won't be back for a long time if you know what I mean!" he said. Sam gave a little smile. "And besides, why do you think we have Chris keeping watch at the clubhouse?", Danny said nonchalantly. "Anybody or Octovore trying to steal our gear with get a very nasty wake-up call"_

_"Maybe your right..." Sam said, her smile getting bigger. She really hadn't had much fun in a long time. "So...." she started off, changing out of her MBC outfit into her normal clothes. "Where to first?"_

_"That's the Sam I know!", Cathy yelled and shot her fist into the air triumphantly._

_"It's party time!" Danny yelled. Sam laughed. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all....._

_**About 5 hours later... **[still in flash back mode]_

_"THAT WAS AWESOME!", Sam cried with a huge smile across her face. "I've never had so much fun in my life!!!" _

_It had been a very fun night. Danny, Sam, and Cathy had been to the carnival, the mall, and the ice cream store._

_They were all still talking about the past events of the night, when Sam's MBC watch went off._

_"HELLO?", Sam asked, still in her happy land. There was a few seconds of static, and then it happened._

_"Stupid Monster Buster Club children!" Sam froze in her tracks. _

_"What's up Sam?" Danny asked, and Cathy faced Sam with a confused look on her face. Sam gave no response, but instead only continued to listen._

_"I told you we would meet again before night falls", Grandpa Octovore growled on the other side. "You and your stupid little team. Always ruining our plans, and takes what is ours. But now. Now you will see how it feels to have something so dear to you just taken away! You will now feel the same pain, hurt, and agony, I have felt! Go back to your stupid little clubhouse....see if you can find what is missing....". With that the screen returned back to static and lingered there before shutting off. Sam continued to stare at the blank screen, not quite absorbing the information fully yet._

_"Sam...", Danny's voice trailed off. He couldn't find the right words to say. "I....uhh...I...sorry....", he said quietly, his voice trailing off again. Sam then shot off in the direction of the clubhouse in a frantic run._

_"THE CLUBHOUSE!!" she screamed. Danny and Cathy chased after her, close on her heels._

_Sam finally reached the club house. From the outside it looked undisturbed. But as she slowly pulled open the the door- it was clear that something or someone had been here. And from the looks of it- they had found what they wanted. Sam flipped open her watch frantically._

_"Chris, we need an A sc-" she stopped and her face paled. Chris's communication line had been disconnected. _

_"Slowly turning around, afraid of what she might see, Sam turned and faced the main computer._

_"NOOOOOOOO!!!" Sam screamed. The computer screen had been bashed in the center with multiple cracks running out to the edges of the monitor. The once hovering seat in front of th computer was on th ground split into two halves. The keyboard had been robbed of several keys, indicating that the felon had thrown it and it's user down on the ground hard._

_"NOOOOOO!!!!!"Sam screamed again- only this time louder. She screamed as loud as she could, running through out the club house until she had reached Chris's room. It was completely ruined in every way- utterly destroyed. The chair was in the middle of the floor- smashed into about a million pieces. The bed was flipped upside down, and there was a trail of books with pages ripped out and scattered everywhere from an overturned bookcase. Where the trail of books ended, a discreet track of nails were clawed into the wall near the bottom. This indicated an extreme struggle. The nail tracks lined the outside of his room, and back to the master computer. Sam heard herself scream. _

_"OH MY GOD." Sam cried. There was a medium sized puddle of red liquid near the end of the nail tracks. Floating in the middle of the puddle there was a scrap of sky blue fabric. Sam sunk to her knees and began to sob. It was all her fault. This was her fault. She had killed her best friend. She had killed the person she.....loved. Love. The word echoed in her head and Sam began to feel very dizzy and nauseous. She couldn't take all of it in at once. She just couldn't. As Samantha's body fell backwards, bound for a hard hit, a last thought crossed her mind:_

_I'm sorry, Christopher._

**So, what do ya think?? Well I won't know unless you tell me! See that pretty box with the beautiful green letter in it? Why don't be so kind as to click on it and write a little sumthin' sumthin'_ ….=D_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone! Sorry it took so long to update this chapter, I had 5 major projects at school during the same length of time....it was horrible....[**_**shudders**_**]. Anyway, I'd like to thank all of my wonderful reviewers! Your feedback helped more than you will ever know! A special thanks to Dannyrules96, your review was very inspiring! Sorry this chapter might be a little short. Well, on to the next chapter!**

Chapter 2

Sam sleepily opened her eyes, and rubbed her eyelids. It had been a very tiring night in the attic. Sam groaned and slowly sat up on her bed, and yawned. She rose to her feet and proceeded to her daily stretches. After she was fully awake, Samantha sat down on the floor to think about something she'd run through her brain about 50 million times already.

_"What is wrong with me?"_ Sam asked herself tiredly. _"I wasn't always like this. The shyness, the insecurity, the sickness inside. It's all so....new"_

Sam sat straight up as a thought came to her. Hoisting herself off of the ground, Sam cracked open her bedroom door to check if anyone else was up. All other doors were closed with lights off, and she could hear Danny's snoring. Silently closing her door as to not awaken Danny or Cathy, Sam kneeled down on the floor, and stretched her arm under the bed. She laid there, stomach down on the ground groping for what she was looking for. The she felt it. The cool, sleek metal greeted her fingertips at last. Sam grasped the object and pulled it out from under the bed. She smiled as she felt its welcoming sleek surface greet her. It was Chris's laptop. She closed her eyes, visualizing it as though it were only yesterday. Sam had woken up on Cathy's bed. She remembered that she had had a massive headache, and that she had thought it had all just been a bad dream. She'd knocked on Chris's door only to have no response. Cracking the door open, she saw that it had actually happened. She'd wanted to be left alone in his room to grieve. Right before she turned to leave his room, she had caught glimpse of the laptop. She'd snatched it up the moment she had recognized it. After all, it was the only surviving thing from 'the incident'. It had been, and still is her only connection to Chris. Although she couldn't physically communicate to him, the laptop have her a feeling almost indescribable. It made her feel as though all hope wasn't lost, and that there was still a chance of finding him. Still a chance to confess. She carried everywhere- in her locker, under the bed; there was just something so.....right about it. She opened it up and powered it on. Nothing much was on the software, just the basics- word documents, Internet, etc. After a little while of messing around with it, Sam slid it back under the bed, where it would be safe- forever.

Just then, something VERY out of the ordinary happened. There came a beeping sound from the main area of the clubhouse. Sam couldn't believe her ears.

_"This can't be what I think it is..." _she thought. Her suspicions were soon confirmed as she heard 2 doors seem to bust open and slam closed. There was the sound of loud footstep running past her door excitedly.

"Oh my god!!" Danny screamed.

"SAAAAAAAM!!!"Cathy yelled and soon Sam burst out of her own room and ran into the main area. It was an alien alert!

"WHHHHOOOOOO!" Danny yelled, bouncing off the walls excitedly. "The Monster Buster Club is back in business, baby!"

"Yes!" Cathy screamed. "GRANDPA!" Soon Mr. Smith was joining in the excitement high-fiving everybody. Tears of joy welded up in Sam's eyes, and she hurriedly brushed them away, a grin spreading across her face. "I can't believe it...." her voice trailed off in excitement. "Wait, Mr. Smith, didn't you say hat you were working on fixing the master computer?" Sam asked, her happiness starting to fade away.

"Well, seems like the perfect time to try her out!"Mr. Smith said with a pleased smile.

"Would you do us the honors?" Danny asked Sam gesturing towards the now floating hover chair.

"Guys...I really shouldn't-" Sam started, but Cathy interrupted her.

"Trust me, you should" she said with a warm smile. Sam smiled back. She slowly walked towards the chair, and hesitantly flopped down in it.

"The alert is from the comic book store, by the city dump!" Sam said. "Let's go team!"

"Boy, I never thought you'd say that again." Danny said with a wink. Sam laughed. After changing into their very old suits, Danny, Sam, and Cathy all lined up and jumped down the tunnel leading to their ships. As Sam jumped down the narrow tunnel, and felt herself free-falling, she thought to herself with a grin:

_"Maybe this could be the start of something new. The start of something good." _

**Hey guys! So what do ya think? I'll never know if you don't tell me! REVIEW!--please**

**~katie minnie**


	3. Chapter 3

**Believe it or not, I actually updated twice in two days! Reviewer xXxILoveChrisxXx, your review was so funny! I nearly fell out of my chair cracking up. Anyway, here's chapter 3!**

Chapter 3

"Alien readings- off the charts!" Sam yelled, reading the A-scanner while sprinting. Everybody was running, and almost out of breath. All of a sudden, Sam stopped abruptly a few feet away from a huge dumpster

"Sam, what gives?" Danny panted, gasping for air. He wasn't the only one, Cathy and Sam were tired too, but that didn't stop Sam- not in the least. Somewhere, deep inside, she felt that somehow this mysterious alien alert was connected to Chris's disappearance.

"C'mon! We can't stop now!" Sam yelled at Danny and Cathy, and resumed running. They hesitantly ran after her. Now directly in front of the dumpster, Sam held the A-scanner in front of her.

"Whoa! There is definitely something important in this dumpster." Sam exclaimed. The readings were a dark red, almost black, indicating that it was of high alien technology.

"Cannonball!" Danny shouted as he jumped high in the air and into the dumpster. "What better place to start than the source?" he asked. Sam and Cathy shrugged and went in after him. On a usual basis, Sam would never plunge into a pile of trash, but hey, desperate times cause for desperate measures. Sam searched the trash throughly, tossing it behind her back and over her head. From her knowledge of previous missions, Sam had learned that an alien or piece of alien technology could look like any thing. Take for example, the flower king, or even the destiny puzzle. You would've never guessed that they were a royal king, and a box containing all the technology of the alien universe, would you? As Sam continued to dig, time passed, and it became later, and later, soon it was so dark Sam could hardly see the trash.

"Hey Sam" Cathy said wearily as though she had just woken up, "maybe we should clock in for the night".

"WHAT? NEVER!" Sam screamed at Cathy. "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Sam said. She stared at Cathy in bewilderment. This could be her big break. This could be just the thing she needed to find Chris, and Cathy wanted to _sleep_?! "Fine then, go." Sam said quietly.

"Sam, I-"

"Go" Sam repeated, interrupting Cathy.

Cathy looked down at the ground, and then slowly stepped out of the dumpster and turned to the streets to start home. Danny scrambled after her, and then shot Sam an angry look that said: _I can't believe you just did that!_

Turning back to her work, Sam continued to search as best she could and then stopped. Sam sighed.

_"What am I doing?"_ Sam thought to herself. She ran her fingers through her hair, frustrated. _"Cathy is my best friend! I can't just push her away like that, besides she's right, it's getting pretty late."_ Sam turned away from the trash and flipped out of the dumpster, landing perfectly on the cool pavement. Before she turned to go, Sam decided to do one last A-scan. She flipped to gadget out, and set it to work. Somehow, the readings said that the source of the alien tech was behind the dumpster. Sam shot behind the dumpster, only to find a stupid video game disc.

"Great, just what the world needs, another stupid-" Sam cut herself off, bending down to take a closer look at the disc. It was Blastertron 360- Chris's favorite video game! A small smile spread across Sam's face. Another thing to remember him by. Maybe it would even have a few clues. Sam picked it up and headed home.

Little did she know, that video game would have a whole lot more than clues...........

Well, there's another chapter, I'll see if I can write another soon.=D. REVIEW!!--thnx~katie minnie


	4. Chapter 4

**Alrighty then! Next chapter for **_**"Unknown Love"**_** is up! Sorry, I haven't updated it sooner....Hey guys, I know that none of y'all probably even watch Chalkzone, but I published a story for it called **_**"In the Depth of my Heart"**_**. I'd really appreciate it if some of y'all (Forgive me, I'm just straight up country) just reviewed the story (and this one too! =D) to give me a little bit of feedback to work with. Thnx tons!~Katie minnie **

Chapter 4

Samantha awoke the next morning, adventure in her spirit. She felt so much lighter today- so much more capable of doing things she wanted to do. She started the day with retrieving the hidden laptop, and popping that disc in. She just needed to know exactly what was so high tech on that game that it would set off a high alien alert. As Sam slid the disc into the computer, and waited for the game to load, she thought of all the possibilities it could be bringing her. This could have an important clue, or a suspect- thinking back to that night Sam realized they already had a suspect. Her thoughts were interrupted by the humming sound being produced by the computer as it read the disc, and its contents. Moments later, the program: Blastertron 360 popped up on the screen, and asked Sam if she wanted to enter the site or not. Sam eagerly chose to enter the site. The screen went black and then something very unexpected happened. Sam's heart skipped a beat, and her eyes widened in shock. Chris was on the screen, with a very frightened look on his face, and although there was static interrupting the picture every few seconds, Sam could see the background moving as though he were being chased. Sam sat up in alarm, watching him run as though the devil was after him.

"Sam.............help........me.............game........help......me.....AHHHHHH!" Sam watched in horror as Chris was slapped to the ground and tackled upon, and the screen went black again. Samantha stared at the screen. To much to take in. She felt very light headed, and a little nauseous. Then she sat up straight, the reality of the whole thing hitting her like a ton of bricks, and knocking the wind out of her.

"HE'S ALIVE!!!!" Sam screamed as soon as she got her breath back. Danny busted through the door, Cathy right behind him.

"What happened?" Danny asked looking around expectantly.

"Alien alert?" Cathy asked, also looking quite suspicious.

"HE'S ALIVE!!!!"Sam yelled at the top of her lungs.

Danny turned a pale white, "Sam, are you talking about-"

"YES!" Sam yelled.

Danny looked as though he were about to faint, then finally:

"OH MY GOD!!!!" Danny yelled jumping all around the room. He couldn't believe it! He was gonna get him his best buddy back!

"WHOOOOOO!!" Cathy yelled. She had missed Chris too. Plus, she had no idea how much longer the MBC was gonna stay together without him. Danny was laughing, Sam was crying,and Cathy was dancing. All of them were happy.

"Wait" Danny said, as he stopped jumping, "How do you know?" he asked Sam.

"He sent me a video!" Sam replied happily. She told Danny and Cathy the entire story, starting from when they left her at the dump and ending it with an apology to Cathy.

"Oh it's alright.." Cathy said blushing, "I was just being annoying as usual."

Sam smiled and gave Cathy a hug. Best Friends Forever.

"Now" Sam said with a grin across her face, let's talk about how I'm supposed to get in that game."

Danny and Cathy both exchanged looks of wonder and slight fear, their eyebrows raised in a questioning look.

_None of them had the smallest idea, exactly what awaited Samantha on that game............._

_'till death do they part........._

**Sorry to stop the action here, but I'll update soon, I promise! REVIEW!-plz~luv Katie**


	5. Chapter 5

**Wat up? It's Katie minnie bringing you chapter five of Unknown Love! Settle down, and get comfy, 'cuz this chapter is going to be very interesting. Trust me........=D**

Chapter 5

Sam groaned, lifting her heavy eyelids to the very bright light. She had stayed up nearly all night trying to figure out a way to get in Blastertron 360. Her first thought as she wearily sat herself up, was how her everything was aching. Her second, and most important thought, was: what time is it? Then reality hit her like a wave of fresh, cold water. Literally.

"WHAT THE HECK, DANNY!?" Sam screamed, sitting up in alarm.

"Wakey, wakey, Ms. Sunshine!" Danny said. He was talking really fast, as though he were in a hurry. Uh oh, Danny was never in a hurry, unless he was late to go to.....

"SCHOOL!!!" Sam yelled. She shot off of the couch, grabbing her belongings as she passed them. She skidded to a halt in front of the clock.

"7:45?!?!?!" Sam screamed. That was impossible! School started at 7:30! She was so dead, considering the fact that Mr. Fusster's final science exam was today! Sam bolted through the clubhouse door, running super fast, until she halted in front of the bus stop. Wait a minute.....if school already started, the is no bus to catch! Sam was gonna need to improvise- NOW.

"C'mon, c'mon, think Sam!" Sam willed herself to think of a brilliant plan, like she always does. It would be way too risky using the MBV....school was way too far away to even consider walking.....then she thought of it.

"Whoa, slow down there, Sam!" Danny said as he finally caught up with her, out of breath.

"Danny, where's Cathy?" Sam asked. With the right materials, and/or people, she just might be able to get herself out of this mess.

"C'mon Danny! Time is tickin'!" Sam said impatiently.

"She's up there!" Danny said. Following the direction of his finger, Sam saw an outline of Cathy, walking horridly to approach school grounds. Sam flipped open her watch.

"Cathy!" Sam spoke to the device. The outline of Cathy stopped walking and turned around.

"Sam?" Cathy asked.

"Duh! Cathy, can you mind control principal Rawlins for a few?" Sam asked.

"I really don't know Sam...."

"Please! I can't fail that science exam!"

"we have an exam!?" Cathy screamed, as Sam watched the outline jump in surprise. "I'm on it!"

Sam pressed the button on her watch that sends for the MBV. It can hurling around the corner and skipped to a stop in front of Sam and Danny.

"Smart" Danny said climbing in. Sam took her spot at the wheel. It was time to roll.

"Let's do this thing!" Sam yelled, and shifted the stick into full speed. The scenery went zipping past like mad and in no time they pulled up in front of school, and hopped out.

"Where's Cathy?" Sam asked.

"Here" Cathy said. She was clinging to the roof of the MBV.

"Let's go!" Sam said. They all darted in the school, and ran like mad down the hallways, up the stairs, and in the classroom. The class was in an uproar, watching principal Rawlins jump up and down on Mr. Fusster's desk, flapping her arms and squawking like some crazed chicken. Danny, Cathy, and Sam quickly took their seats, before noticed.

"Cathy!" Sam hissed under the table, " can you fix this?" she asked thumbing towards principal Rawlins.

"I'll try" Cathy hissed back at her. Cathy made a face that looked as though she were concentrating really hard. All of a sudden, principal Rawlins stopped, and dropped on the floor. She lay there motionless, snoring loudly.

"Okay then" Mr. Fusster said timidly as he rose from under his desk. "Let's start the exam, shall we?"

After school.......

Sam, Cathy, and Danny all walked back to the clubhouse in silence after school. They were all thinking about the same thing.

"Maybe we could teleport me there-", Sam asked hopefully.

"Too risky" Cathy said. "I've used teleportation many times, and often it goes wrong." Cathy stopped walking, as did Danny and Sam. Cathy put an arm around Sam's shoulders and looked straight into her eyes. "I can't lose another friend" she said quietly and seriously. Sam stared back for a few moments, then replied with a smile, "Don't worry, you won't Cath, we can find a different way to get me there."

"How did Chris even get in there?" Danny asked. For the first time, Sam actually thought about how this had even happened. Well, she remembered that he was alone in the clubhouse when it had happened, and that their prime suspect was Grandpa Octovore.

"We definitely know that Grandpa Octovore had something to do with it..." Sam started.

"But how did he get in the clubhouse?" Danny asked. "Right before we left, Chris said he was gonna keep the clubhouse on full lock down."

"Hmmmm...." Cathy murmured. "I got it!!!"

"What?!?" Sam and Danny yelled in unison.

"Octovores can transport from one place to another through electrical shock waves!!" Cathy cried.

"But ho-"

"Chris must've been playing the video game to pass some time" Sam stated quietly, interrupting Danny.

"The game gave off electrical shock waves, and targeted him." Sam concluded. There was a moment off silence before. Danny spoke, quite softly.

"If I didn't have that stupid idea to go to the carnival, we might have made it back before Grandpa Octovore could track him down and.....-" Danny stopped himself from talking any further. There was another moment of silence, before Sam put her arm around Danny's shoulders and said: "It's not your fault". Danny looked up at her and smiled a bit. Boy did he have great friends.

At the clubhouse....

Sam sighed, raking her fingers through her hair. It had been a very stressful day. Danny was locked up in his room, and wouldn't let anyone see him, not even Cathy. Why couldn't things just go back to the way they were? A happy MBC group with 4 cups of a strong friendship, 2 teaspoons of smiling faces, and a pinch of sarcasm! Sam sighed again. She already knew hat things wouldn't go back to the way they were. They couldn't. Not without Chris. Or at least that's the way she felt. The really frustrating thing about the whole situation, was that after 2 long, weary, and hurtful years, she had finally found Chris's location, but couldn't get to him. It was just so stupid. Sam snatched up a sheet of aluminum foil (part of her materials for a science project), and crumpled it up.

"Having a tough time?" a soft and sincere voice asked. Sam turned around to see Cathy. She walked over to where Sam was sitting.

"Yeah, I guess so." Sam said. "It's just been a very stressful day" she added.

"Tell me about it" Cathy said.

"And to make things worse, this stupid computer won't even work!" Sam said, and threw the ball of aluminum foil at the giant monitor. There was a _ZAP_ and a bright flash of white light, and the aluminum ball was gone. Sam and Cathy both gasped and looked at each other, wide eyed with shock. The aluminum had disappeared through the monitor.

_What a lucky clue, now how would Samantha use its evidence???......... _

In Blastertron 360......(Chris's POV)

"I was sitting under a random tree, when this ball of aluminum foil hit me on my head. It was kind of weird suggesting the fact the normally, it doesn't rain aluminum balls. Looking up at the sky, with the ball in my hand, I wondered if this could be a sign. Maybe they would finally find me. Maybe Samantha would finally come"

I told you it was gonna be interesting!REIVIEW!!!~luv 3 Katie Minnie


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait, but I had a lot of work to do, including our end of year testing. These past few weeks have really drained me....=( But anyway, I just couldn't resist typing this next chapter due to all of the beautiful reviews I received! And to _wolf-girl10154_, I'm so sorry I didn't see your review until may 23, 7:08 PM! This chapter is dedicated especially to you, and thank you, for being one of the best and most attentive fans I have ever had! You totally rock! =)=)=)=)=) luv ya'll!-----katie minnie**

Chapter 6

It was early Saturday morning, and Samantha was ready. Today was going to be a day she would remember always. Stepping out from under the comfort of her bed sheets, Sam headed out to the main entrance room, where the huge monitor was located. Danny was sitting in the hover chair staring at the blank screen, as though it would all of a sudden just come to life and explain everything to him. Sam watched him silently, wishing she could help him understand. She stood there for a long time, just watching him.

"Hello Samantha" Danny said softly and quietly, without even moving. Sam slightly jumped.

"Oh, hi Danny" she said. Strolling over to him, Sam was shocked to see that his eyes were red, and he had dry tear tracks running down his cheeks. "Are you alright?" she asked, a little worried. She'd never seen him this way- ever. Bending over slightly to his level, Sam studied his face for a sign of happiness. Nothing. Danny slowly turned his face towards hers until he was looking straight into her eyes.

"He's gone" Danny whispered. Sam recognized what she was seeing right away. He was just now starting to see the reality of the whole situation, and it was starting to throw him into depression. After all, that had once been her. Unfortunately, Sam's depression and rejection had lasted about 1 ½ years. With some of her help, Danny might not have to endure that kind of pain.

"I know" Sam said with a small smile. "But not for long. I'm gonna go get him, Danny! Then everything can go back to the way it was." Sam said in the hushed voice a teacher would use with a kindergardener. Danny focused on staring at the floor this time, taking in what she had said. Then he looked back at her, with a very serious face.

"You promise?"

"Of course" Sam exclaimed with a _duh!_ Expression on her face. There was silence, and then:

"What if I don't want him to come back?" Danny asked quietly. Sam stood straight up so that she was looking down at him. He looked up at her. Sam stared into his face with a _what the f***?!_ expression. Before she could tell Danny what she _really_ had to say about his comment, an evil grin spread across his face, and his eyes began to glow a bright red.

"HAHAHAHA!" grandpa Octovore cackled loudly, ripping out of the Danny exo-skin he had been wearing.

"AHHHHH!" Sam screamed. This couldn't be happening! It was all just a bad dream or something and she would wake up any minute now. But she didn't wake up, because it wasn't a dream- it was for real. Grandpa Octovore had taken Chris, and now he was coming back for her.

Sam raced to the bedroom corridor.

"CATHY!!!" she yelled, pounding her fists rapidly against Cathy's door.

"It's no use." grandpa Octovore said slyly with an evil smile on his face. "There are electro-seals on everybody's doors." he said, starting to advance towards Sam. "They're sleeping like babies in their little beds. Can't hear a peep."

_"Oh no!" _Sam thought frantically. _"Is this the end?!?"_

"DANNY!!!" Sam screamed as loud as she could. "PLEASE, ANYONE?!?" Sam could've sworn that she'd seen her entire life flashback right before her eyes in those split seconds: When she'd first moved to Singletown, the first time she'd met Cathy, Chris and Danny, The MBC forming- all of what she'd worked so hard for, about to crumble up right in front of her. Sam felt hot tears begin to sting her eyes as they slid down her cheeks.

"Please....." Sam begged "don't do this....." Grandpa Octovore shot a tentacle towards Sam, missing her by a mere inch. Sam had an idea. If she was gonna try this, she would have to do it right. Dodging flying tentacles along the way, Sam quickly made her way to the closet in the main room. There was a crudely shaped jacket made out of entirely aluminum staring back at her. This was it. Grabbing the jacket, Sam threw it on, grabbing her blaster from the shelf quickly. She couldn't believe that she was just going to bail out on Cathy and Danny so unannounced, but she had no other option.

"AH!!" Sam yelled as the force of grandpa Octovore's massive tentacle nailed her directly in the stomach. Sam shot at him with her blaster but it was no use. He threw her in the air, and then hit her again, but this time with more force, hitting her knock-out point on the side of her head.

"Ugh" Sam felt herself being pushed backward forcefully, and then a blinding white light. She was free falling. The whole world seemed to disappear Sam felt herself slipping out of consciousness. The bright light was getting dimmer and dimmer, and then.....nothingness.

_The whole world seemed to fall apart as Samantha unknowingly plummeted down. Down, to a world that held danger, death, and was full of evil. Down to a world that held Christopher._

**Sorry if this wasn't exactly what you expected, but I hope it was alright! All you fellow chris/sam lovers, give me just a little while longer, I try really hard to make this perfect! Be patient!~katie minnie**

**P.S. REVIEW!!!!!!!!-plz......luv ya'll!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I fixed the end of chapter 5!!!!go back and read it so that the rest of this story will make sense!!!! Enjoy chapter 7!~katie m.**

Chapter 7

"Oh my god" Sam said drowsily as she finally awoke. Coming to her senses, she remembered grandpa Octovore's very 'lovely' visit, and her painful knock-out. Gingerly touching the side of her head, she felt a jolt of pain electrify through-out her entire body.

"Ouch!!!" Sam yelped. She slowly sat up, and her breath was caught in her throat, realizing for the first time where she was. Scanning the area around, she saw armed soldiers marching about in the distance, all of them looking very unfriendly. The sky was a very dark purplish-black. It almost seemed as though it was night-time. There was no sun in sight, but bright, neon colored ships zipped through the sky everywhere. They rocketed about, firing at each other, looking like millions of exploding stars. She was in Blastertron 360.

"Whoa" Sam breathed. She surveyed the area one last time before attempting to stand up. Her body ached all over, especially one the left side of her head. Sam lost her balance and fell, nearly hitting the ground, but a pair of arms caught her around her middle. Startled, and caught completely off guard, Sam whirled around, to meet face-to-face with her own robotic reflection. It was S2! The robot who, (along with D34) had once tried to destroy the MBC, particularly Danny and Sam.

"You little--" Sam started angrily.

"Greetings friend!" S2 said, interrupting Sam. S2 looked the same as before-- exactly like Sam with a perfect smile and a way too perky attitude.

"Get away from me!" Sam yelled at S2 before wrenching herself away from her robotic grip. "

"Don not be alarmed fellow Monster Buster" S2 said in her mechanical voice. "I mean no harm and I come in peace"

"What are you doing here?" Sam demanded, still very angry.

"I was sent to oversee your duties by the Commander. We were sent a message saying that you had made it to the headquarters."

"But we decommissioned you from our planet a long time ago! You shouldn't have been let out by now!"

"You decommissioned me from planet Earth, my friend. The is planet Dixatron, home to the game Earthlings call 'Blastertron 360'!" S2 declared proudly.

"Whatever" Sam mumbled. "Get out of my face, I have some _very_ important work to do." Pushing S2 to the side, Sam limped her way about 7 feet before falling again.

"Ugh! This stupid leg!!" Sam screamed, pounding her fists against the ground in frustration.

"Perhaps I can help!" S2 piped, producing a bottle of bluish liquid, and unveiling a pile of heavy armor. Sam glared up at her. No matter how much she hated S2, she knew that if she ever wanted to have any hope of seeing Chris again, she was going to have to cooperate.

"Do your worst" Sam mumbled, closing her eyes to pray while she let S2 help her up off of the ground.

Meanwhile at the Clubhouse.........

Danny yawned and stretched as he awoke from his sleep.

"Hmmm" Danny grumbled. He could've sworn that he'd left his door open before going to bed.

"Oh well" he said, shrugging it off. He showered and got changed in his room before hearing a yelp from through the wall.

"Cathy?" Danny asked the wall.

"The door shocked me!" came Cathy's muffled voice.

"What??" Danny asked, reaching for his doorknob.

"I said---"

"OUCH!!" Danny cried out in pain, holding his hand. The door had shocked him! _(Wow, there's a surprise......) _

"I can't get out!" Danny screamed in panic.

"Me either!!" Cathy screamed back. "Sam??" Cathy asked through the door. "Can you get out?" There was no answer. "Sam??"

"She's probably still sleeping" Danny said.

In Blastertron 360.........

"Not too bad" Sam commented on her new outfit. S2 had dressed her with sleek silver armor with a gigantic golden feather spewing out form the head. Sam had drank the blue liquid earlier, and learned that it had restored her leg.

"Behold, your level one training armor!" S2 said proudly, and bowed before Sam.

"What? Are you like my slave or something?" Sam asked, a wicked grin spreading across her face.

"No, your highness" S2 said grudgingly.

"Highness???" Sam asked.

"I must address you appropriately since you are the chosen one."

"Chosen one?!?!" Sam asked. Now she was completely confused.

"Ever since Christopher was captured by the Dark Lord, all of Dixatron has been in great peril." S2 said, looking quite sad. "No one from any other galaxy has come to help us, and King Christopher might never come back if no one aids to him. That's where you come in. Christopher sent the MBC an emergency signal through some kind of everyday object about a year ago. You read the signal a year later, and discovered how to reach him. It is to my knowledge that the Dark Lord came to you." S2 concluded her explanation, the last sentence a question, rather than a statement.

"Well, yeah." Sam started. "He came to the clubhouse last night dressed like Danny, and attacked me and threw me into the game." S2 pressed a button on her wrist, and it beeped. Leaning over towards her, Sam saw that she had a V-com, just like hers.

"I am contacting Christopher." S2 said "He will want to know of our latest visitor."

"What??!?" Sam gasped "You're gonna actually talk to him?!" S2 nodded and said sarcastically:

"Is that a problem?"

"LET ME SEE!!!!" Sam screamed, tackling S2 and bringing her down hard. Taken by surprise, S2 threw Sam off of her, and began to run away.

"This is for important business only, not your stupid little catching up." S2 yelled at Sam from behind her shoulder, continuing to sprint away.

"AHHH!" Sam let out her war cry and literally _leaped_ about 6feet's distance, throwing her full weight on S2.

"Get off of me!!!" S2 yelled.

"Let me see the V-com, you hunk of trash!!"

"Never!!!"

"Why??!?!?" Sam asked very furious. By now she was on top of S2, pinning her uncomfortably to the ground.

"Because" S2 started, "Christopher loves me, _NOT_ you, so you might as well get over it!!!" Sam stared at S2 in disbelief, and at that very moment, S2 could've sworn she'd seen a hint of fire rise up in Sam's eyes.

_"Oh snap....."_ S2 thought.

"WHAT????" Sam screamed at S2. She threw her up air in the air with unbelievable strength, and caught her by her neck when she came down. "AHHHH!!!" Sam screamed her war cry all in S2's face.

"LET GO OF ME YOU CRAZY---" S2 gasped loudly as she struggled to get loose from Sam's deathly grip.

"CRAZY?!?!?!" Sam screamed. "YOU THINK THIS IS CRAZY?!?!?!" Sam began to thrash S2 on the side of her head repeatedly, very hard, until S2's body went limp. Sam threw her to the ground hard, and leaned over her so that they were so close, their noses almost touched. S2 was gasping for air in raspy breaths, her eyes barely open. Her usually shiny and sleek metal covering, now was faded, scratched, and a little bent up. Sam whispered threateningly in her ear:

"If you thought that was crazy, say something like that one more time, just one more time- and you'll see crazy. Try me." And with that Sam let S2 lay there and rethink her actions, while she jerked S2's v-com off of her wrist and examined it-- only to find out that it was a fake.

"Ugh" Sam threw the v-com down disgustedly. Just then, a huge billboard materialized out of thin air right above Sam. Sam ran out of the way just in time, as the board fell to the ground, standing upright. It had a bunch of numbers on it and a picture of Sam next to them.

"Mission completed", came a very robotic voice from the billboard. "Enemy defeated" it said. Sam whirled around and saw S2's decrepit body disintegrate into thin air, and the ashes were blown away with the wind. The v-com on the ground turned into a golden bubble. As Sam cautiously touched the bubble, it disappeared, and Sam could feel herself getting stronger. Looking down, she saw the her thin silver armor had transformed into a harder, more durable golden jacket. It was the kind of long, button down jacket you would see people wear in the matrix, complete with black shades.

"Awesome!" Sam yelled.

"Level one completed" came the voice again, and then the billboard suddenly zipped up into the sky and disappeared. Sam looked down at the ground. There was a map with directions to her Level two battlegrounds.

"I could get used to this" Sam said walking off in the direction the map pointed to.

_Little did Sam know, somebody was watching her every move...._


	8. Chapter 8

Hey...it's katie m. bringing you the chapter 8 for unknown love! I am leaving out of state on Saturday for summer vacation. We don't have internet where I am going, so there will be no further updates for unknown love for about 3 months after this chapter! Sorry.....

Chapter 8

Sam landed perfectly on her feet, a huge grin spread across her face. Slowly turning around she saw her wonderful work of butt-kicking as the gigantic robots came crashing down, huge clouds of dust rising from everywhere. Sam made way for the expected scoreboard, proudly awaiting her status. Sure enough, the board landed perfectly upright, in the midst of the dust.

"Progress level----excellent" came the loud mechanical voice. "New life added"

"Yes!" Sam thrust her fist in the air happily. She had been down to her last life when she encountered the laser fight with D34. Sam shuddered just thinking about what it had been like to lose a life. It was exactly like dying for real. Sam had felt herself getting tireder and tireder after taking a violent stab from D34. She was suffocating, slowly, until finally, it ended. Sam had tried to take another breath but couldn't. Her body had given completely out. Then, in the blink of an eye, she was standing upright again, fully powered and still strong as ever. Bringing her attention back to the score board, Sam listened carefully.

"Level 34 complete!" Came the robotic voice. "Boss stage ahead." Sam gulped, as she watched the board silently zip off into the dark sky.

Back on earth at the clubhouse.....(Cathy's point of view)

_I stood there, on the railing of the Singletown bridge. It was the highest place I could find with such short notice. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks. Was this really the answer? Slowly, I turned so that my back was facing the loud, fast traffic below. My feet were starting to shake, and the world was starting to go all blurry. Yes. This was the answer. I had lost too many friends already. What was I good for anyway? I thought back to Danny. I don't deserve him. Why would he want such a nervous wreck? As I let myself fall backward off of the railing, and down towards the rushing cars, I saw a figure racing towards me. "Cathy!" Danny cried. Right before I disappeared over the edge and into the abyss, I whispered: "Too late"_

"NOOOOO!"Danny woke me up from my wonderful dream screaming. "Promise me you will never do that!!!" I stared in his face. It was covered in tears, and his face was red. He looked worried sick.

"What? How did you know?!?" I asked suddenly, sitting straight up in bed.

"You were saying it out loud and...."

"So what? It's the best way to go for now..."I mumbled staring at her bed sheets.

"Cathy" Danny said quietly. "We both love her. It's been 5 months, but you've got to have hope. Sam's a tough girl she can do this." He took her hand and said "you just can't give up on her. You can't give up on me." I smiled a little. I knew Danny had liked Sam secretly before he'd met me, I just never told Sam. Probably because Sam didn't like him the same way in return, but luckily, I did.

"Okay" I reached over and hugged Danny. Maybe things would be okay. Just then the monitor beeped, and Danny and I paused and immediately pulled away from each other avoiding eye contact and blushing furiously. I got up and walked into the main room, Danny behind me. I pressed the 'receive' button, and the commander appeared on the screen.

"Daniel Jackson and Catherine Smith. Are you there?" commander asked. Danny scowled at his full name being used and Cathy silently stared at the floor.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we're here alright...." he mumbled.

"I bear critical and very important news!" the commander said. He looked really worried and even a little scared. Danny and Cathy stood up straight, listening.

"What is it?" Danny asked looking a little suspicious.

"It is your friend,Samantha. She has encountered the planet Dixatron to recover her friend Christopher."

"I knew it!" Danny yelled. "She went into that game! That's where she's been!"

"Naw!!" Cathy said sarcastically.

"She is faring quite well, actually. Surprisingly, she has already made to the boss stage." Commander said. Cathy gasped.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no........" she said rapidly pacing back and forth.

"What?" Danny asked. Cathy looked up, her face stricken with grief as her bottom lip started to quiver.

"The one thing I do know about planet Dixatron, is that no one has ever made it past boss stage alive." she said quietly.

"It has to be a trap." commander said slowly, "Most likely the same one that imprisoned your other friend, the one in the blue."

"CHRIS!" Cathy and Danny both exclaimed in unison. The had to get to Sam, before it was too late for all of them.

Back on planet Dixatron..........

Sam came to a halt in front of a huge yellow ship with a note attached to it. It read:

_"For Sam, and Sam only- the highest of high"_

Sam blushed after reading the letter. Who would ever consider her to be the 'highest of high'? Her thoughts raced back to Chris and she blushed even deeper. Maybe he left it for her. Maybe she was getting closer to finding him! Excitement raced through Sam as she leaped into the battleship, and it automatically rose into the air.

Somewhere to remain unknown.......

"Sire, she is taking the bait!" came a hushed voice from a master's servant.

"Good.....very good.... It will only be a matter of days then...." Another, more laid back voice said, it's red eyes narrowing.

Review! And if there are any deviant artists online, could you paint sam in the game??? that would be totally awesome and cool.....3 luv ya'll! And to wolf-girl10154, if I get any more rude comments from you, I am disabling anonymous reviews. =(


	9. Chapter 9

**Heeeyyyy!!!!! it's katie minnie! I missed you guys so freakin' much!!!! My vacay was awesome, but about a week after we got there I almost broke down in tears cuz I missed my computer...true story....don't tell anyone I told you that.....anyway hope this chapter is okay! REVIEW PLEASE!! thanks 2 all of the people who did review, they were very inspiring and beautiful!3katie m.**

**The awesomest people ever:**

**madi**

**Luna La Pond**

**the original k.m.**

**Alethswan**

**ILOVECHRIS624**

**paolaruiz**

**Mady**

**wolf-girl10154**

**hkdk**

**Dannyrules96**

**Jiing**

**SamRox20**

**C-shell12203**

Chapter 9

Sam struggled to walk on, pleading for the pain in her feet to stop.

"C'mon, just a little bit further", Sam whispered to herself, trying to persevere her way on, "You can do it, you can do it, you're Sam! You can--" Sam was cut short by a brutal fall to the ground. She had been walking on and on into what felt like an endless abyss for about 5 days now. She had run out of water in her canteen yesterday morning. The bluish liquid that S2 had given her before, had its effects wearing off since the 2nd day and Sam had been forced to drag her bad leg along like dead weight. Her spaceship had been destroyed only moments after she had stepped foot into it. It had almost been like the ship had been set to self destruct, now that Sam thought about it. She was beginning to feel uncomfortable to the point where she felt like she was being drawn into a trap of some sort.

As of right now, Sam's right leg was completely paralyzed, to the point where she could no longer shift her weight on it, or use it for any support. Sam sat up and looked around from her very awkward and uncomfortable spot in the sand. There was nothing but endless sand in every direction she could see. There was no plant life what so ever. Since the ship had blown up, Sam had acquired several new cuts and bruises. A specific cut that was rather deep and implanted in her left cheek had been bothering her very badly. She thought that maybe it was infected.

Unable to elevate her body any further, Sam let herself fall into the sand completely. Staring up into the dark night sky, Sam saw two ships that seemed to section themselves off from the others. They each blasted at each other for a while, one shooting like mad while the other would quickly dodge the shot and fire some of their own. It was very entertaining watching the two ships go at each other. Sam closed her eyes, and for the first time since she'd been here, she thought about Danny and Cathy back at the clubhouse. .A pang of guilt stabbed her somewhere deep in her heart. She shouldn't have bailed on her friends like that, but there was no other way....or was there?....Thinking back to the situation, Sam realized that she could've tried kicking a hole in Cathy or Danny's door. But then they would be vulnerable to Grandpa Octovore, and Sam could never ever risk that. She would die for any and all of her friends. Scratch that, they weren't just her friends, they were her family. She smiled a little, remembering all the good times they had shared with each other.

Once again, Sam's thoughts were interrupted by a loud "boom!" from up above. Slowly lifting her head to the skies, Sam saw that one of the ships explode. It was the most beautiful and miraculous thing she had ever seen. The ship burst into about a million bright and different colors. Kind of like a super nova or something. Sam watched in awe as the colorful sparks came showering down.

"Ouch!" Sam peered down at her hand. There was a black mark on it where a spark had fallen on it. Looking back up Sam realized that the ship was aimed directly above her. Her eyes widened with horror.

"AH!!!" a large spark fell on the back of Sam's neck. Sam's body shot up, attempting to sit her self up and run away. Halfway up a shock of pain shot throughout her leg. Sam saw that the flaming sparks were falling faster, and heavier. Sam was starting to panic. Tears streamed down her cheeks and her breath became raspier, and shakier. Sam lifted an arm to try an shield her face.

Way off in the distance, Sam saw two figures racing toward her, and she heard one of them scream: "SAM!!!! Oh my god! Danny look!!" The bright pink figure pointed above Sam "WOAH!"the bright red figure screamed. They continued to race towards Sam. "SAM!!!!" the pink figure was screaming their head off. Then Sam recognized them. "CATHY!! DANNY!!"

**So...uh, yeah...please don't be mad at me for stopping the story here! :) Sorry this chapter was kind of long and rambly, but the next will be better—promise. I kind of have a bit of a writer block lately.... guess what......I'm almost done with this fanfic, and when I am, I'm gonna make a new MBC fanfic called: "Operation Rehab" It's gonna be really funny! Review! Luv u guys!---katie**


	10. Chapter 10

**New chapter! Hope it's better than the last, sorry about the suspense at the end, but I agree with Dannyrules96, cliffhangers rock!!! ^ ^ luv katie**

Chapter 10

Sam screamed to her friends as they raced towards her.

"CATHY!!DANNY!!HELP!" Sam waved her flaming sleeve in the air signaling to them.

"WE'RE COMIN' SAM HANG IN THERE!!" Cathy screamed. The flaming ship was nearing Sam's position.

"WE'RE TOO FAR AWAY FROM HER CATH" Danny yelled to Cathy as he stopped running.

"SHUP UP!!!" Cathy screamed at him as she neared Sam. Sam stretched out her arm which was engulfed in flames. Cathy snatched Sam's hand and held it in a death grip as she continued to slowly pull Sam out from under the flaming ship. The ship neared closer, and closer until the heat was unbearable.

"CATHY!! LET GO!!" Sam yelled.

"NEVER!!" Cathy yelled back. Cathy curled up next to Sam, preparing to die with her.

Just then, something swooped down and snatched Sam's other arm up, pulling her high into the air, out from under the flaming ship. The figure who had grabbed her wore a dark mask the covered his entire face. He attempted to hoist Sam up onto his ship. Cathy's hand still clung to Sam, making it impossible for the figure to depart with Sam alone. The ship rose higher int the air bringing Sam along with him. Cathy was still on the ground but she wasn't letting go. Just then, the most horrible sight Sam would ever see happened. Cathy mouthed the words: "Love you", and the ship came crashing down on her.

"NOOOOO!!!" Sam screamed out as loud as her lungs would allow.

"CATHY!" Danny screamed from the other side of the ship in utter disbelief.

Now free of Cathy, the figure pursued to dragging Sam onto their ship. Tears streamed down Sam's cheeks, until something came to mind.

" Danny! It's all just a game!" Sam screamed over the loud motor of the ship. "It's all just a game!!!"

The words echoed inside of Danny's head, and then Sam saw him smile. Sam continued to try an fight off the stranger who was trying to take her. "Who are you?!?!?!?" Sam asked.

"Your worst nightmare!!"

"Get away from me you freak!!"

"Make me!!"

The voice was oddly familiar. Reaching up Sam ripped the mask off of the figure's face.

"JEREMY?!?!?!?!"

Sam bit his hand and he released her. Sam was falling, and falling, and falling, until a ship underneath her caught her. Sam looked at the face and time seemed to stand still.

"Chris?" Sam softly whispered.

"Sam!!" Chris yelled delight using one of his arms to give her a bone crushing hug. Chris continued to fly, now towards the scoreboard. Sam felt her cheeks burn a bright red. The board had Cathy's face on it this time and a series of numbers clicking.

The machine said: "Catherine Smith, Life number 2"

A pile of pink glittery ashes magically rose from the still flaming ship as it exploded again and again, almost like there were bombs inside it.

Floating over to in front of the scoreboard, the pink dust rearranged itself to form the shape of Cathy. There was a bright white light, and Cathy was standing in front of Sam staring at her blankly.

"Cathy!!!" Sam cried pulling her onto the ship and hugging her like there was no tomorrow.

"I'm alive!!" Cathy cheered hugging Sam back. "CHRIS?!?!" Cathy asked in bewilderment.

"In the flesh" Chris replied smiling back at Cathy .

"WHOOOO!!" Cathy yelled from the backseat.

"Where's Danny?" Chris asked a little worriedly.

"Down there" Cathy ad Sam said in unison pointing to below their ship.

The ship swooped down and Danny jumped on. Pulling the ship back up into the air. Chris turned it on auto pilot. Good thing, too, because he was soon yanked into the backseat with the rest of the team.

"AWW!!CHRIS MAN!I MISSED YOU SO DANG MUCH!!" Danny cried pulling Chris into a noogie.

Everyone was talking ad crying tears of joys and exchanging stories and hugs. As the ship continued to cruise off into the night Danny reached to the front and flipped the radio on. The opening music of "I Gotta Feeling" by: the Black Eyed Peas started to play._(a/n: if you don't know the song you should really look it up, it rocks!!! ^ ^)_

"THIS IS MY FAVORITE SONG!!!" Everyone yelled at the same time, and then laughed.

"Blast this song!" Sam screamed.

Cathy reached and turned it up.

Danny started off the first part:

**I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good, good night.**

Chris then joined in:

**I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good, good night.**

Then Cathy started to sing:

**I gotta feeling (woo-hoo) that tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good, good night.**

Smiling, Sam was the last to join in:

**I gotta feeling (woo-hoo) that tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good, good night.**

Altogether the team start to yell:

**Tonight's the night night**

**Let's live it up **

Danny alone yells:

**I got my money**

**Let's spend it up **

Altogether again:

**Go out and smash it **

**Like Oh My God**

**Jump off that sofa**

**Let's get get off!**

Sam alone sings:

**I know that we'll have a ball**

**If we get down **

**And go out**

**And just loose it all**

**I feel stressed out **

**I wanna let it go**

**Let's go way out spaced out**

**And loosing all control**

Together again:

**Fill up my cup**

**Mozoltov**

**Look at her dancing **

**just take it off**

**Let's paint the town**

**We'll shut it down**

**Let's burn the roof**

Danny and Cathy:

**And then we'll do it again**

Alternating Chris and Danny:

**Let's Do it, Let's Do it**

**Let's do it, Let's Do it**

**And do it, and do it **

Sam and Cathy:

**Let's live it up....**

Alternating Chris and Danny again:

**And do it, and do it**

**and do it do it do it**

**let's do it, let's do it **

**let's do it**

Danny:

**I gotta feeling**

Cathy:

**Woo-hoo**

Danny:

**That tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good good night**

Chris:

**I gotta feeling**

Sam:

**Woo-hoo**

Together:

**That tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good night**

**That tonight's gonna be a good good night**

Together:

**I can feel...**

**Tonight's the night**

Chris:

**Hey!**

Together:

**Let's live it up**

Sam and Cathy:

**Let's live it up**

Together:

**I got my money**

Danny:

**I'm paid**

Together:

**Let's spend it up**

Chris:

**Let's spend it up**

Together:

**Go out and smash it**

Cathy:

**Smash it**

Together:

**Like Oh My God**

Sam:

**Like Oh My God**

Together:

**Jump off that sofa**

Danny:

**C'mon**

Together:

**Let's get get off**

**Fill up my cup**

Cathy:

**Drank**

Together:

**Molzotov**

Sam:

**Lahyme**

Together:

**Look at her dancing**

Cathy:

**Move it, Move it**

Together:

**Just take it off**

**Let's paint the town**

**We'll shut it down**

**Let's burn the roof**

**And then we'll do it again**

**Let's do it, let's do it**

**let's do it, let's do it**

**and do it, and do it**

**let's live it up**

**and do it, and do it**

**and do it**

**do it, do it**

**let's do it, let's do it**

**let's do it**

**do it, do it**

**do it, do it**

**Here we come **

**here we go **

**we gotta rock (rock,rock,rock,rock)**

**easy come**

**easy go**

**now we on top (top,top,top,top)**

**feel the shot **

**body rock**

**rock it don't stop**

**round and round**

**up and down a**

**round the clock**

**chris and danny:**

**monday, tuesday, wednesday, and thursday**

**friday, saturday, saturday to sunday**

**cathy and danny:**

**get,get,get,get,get with us**

**you know what we say (say)**

**party everyday (p-p-p-party everyday)**

**chris:**

**and i'm feeling **

**sam:**

**(woo-hoo)**

**chris:**

**that tonight's gonna be a good night**

**that tonight's gonna be a good night**

**that tonight's gonna be a good good night**

**danny:**

**I gotta feeling **

**sam:**

**(woo-hoo)**

**together:**

**that tonight's gonna be a good night**

**that tonight's gonna be a good night**

**that tonight's gonna be a good, good night**

**chris:**

**woo-hoo**

finishing the song, they all laughed and smiled at each other, just like the good old days.

**_________________________________________________________________________________**

**hope it was ok, sorry the song was so long, review please!--katie**


	11. Chapter 11

Hey, it's Katie, check out chapter 11 of unknown love!!! hope you like it! ^ ^ P.S. Check out the new story 'Friends Afar' co-written by me and Aquana12 please! 3

my league of reviewing minions: (JK ^ ^, BTW this is in no specific order)

pink story teller

IHKF

SamRox20

IgnoranceIsYourNewBestFriend

Aquana12

ILOVECHRIS624

Dannyrules96

Luna La Pond

hkdk (btw, I saw ur review, ur welcome 4 the dA drawing ^^)

MBCFan01 ^ ^

Chapter 11:

Sam POV:

I woke up with a smile on my face, remembering last night. I tried to sit up, but something was preventing me. I panicked, shooting a glance down at my stomach.

"Ugh" I groaned seeing that Danny fell asleep across me. I couldn't move. I pushed him off of me as gently as possible. He hit the ground with a 'thud' and didn't even stir. Amazing. Looking around, I saw that we were still in the ship, just on the ground. I was wedged in between Chris and Cathy with Danny at my feet. I stuck my head out of the ship. It was still pitch black, aside from the constant zipping of neon ships overhead. Sam looked down at her wrist, and then sadly remembered that in this world she had no v-com. She looked down at Chris's wrist, and saw that he had one. Flipping the top up, careful not to wake him, Sam saw that it was midnight. Her heart skipped a beat.

But that was impossible. It was midnight when they had finally reunited with Chris! She remembered it vividly, the scoreboard had a clock on it. Then something struck her, and made her tummy do a somersault. She remembered sitting in science class, listening to Mr. Fusster talk about the different planets, and how each of them had a different time frame to elapse in.

"Oh my god" Sam said to no one in particular. "This planet has no sense of time!"

Sam could feel herself getting shaky all over, and realized the conflicts of this discovery. If the planet had no time, that means....they could've been away from planet Earth for years, even though they weren't!!!

"Cathy!" Sam said shaking her frantically.

"Huh?" A sleepy blonde asked drowsily, cracking her eyes open a little.

"Wake up! This is really important!" Sam said pulling Cathy up from her seat so that she was face-to-face with Sam.

"What"

"What time is it?"

"Uhhh, 12 o'clock"

"....."

"....."

"WELL!?!?"

"Wait, that's not possible!"

"Thank you!!" Sam said annoyed. "Cathy, there is no time on this planet" Sam said lowering her voice a bit. Cathy's face paled and she started to shake her head 'no'. Sam nodded her head 'yes'.

Cathy looked deep in thought for a few minutes then asked Sam:

"Uh, Sam....how long were you here before Danny and I came after you?"

"I'd say about a week" Sam said. "Why?" Cathy gasped at Sam's answer, then began to rapidly shake her head 'no'. "What? Is there something wrong?" Sam asked.

Cathy's eyes started to tear up and she whispered very lowly:

"Sam....y-y-you w-w-were gone for....for...for.. .

"For what?? A week?"

"5 MONTHS!!!" Cathy screamed.

"WHAT? NO! WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU'RE DILUSIONAL!"

"NO I'M NOT!"

"YES YOU ARE!"

By now tears were streaming heavily down Cathy's cheeks. Then everything just started...to spill out.

"SAM" Cathy's voice now had a hint of anger in it as it trembled with every word she spoke. "You went out there. Out here that is, while I was sleeping. I had no idea where you were. Then I went to your room. You were gone, but the laptop under your bed was still there." Sam gasped at the fact that Cathy knew about the laptop. She tried to look her in the face, but she kept turning away, and averting her eyes to the ground. "I knew that wherever you were, you hadn't planned on going there. I remembered how the aluminum went through the computer and I saw you working on some sort of aluminum jacket. Then I figured it out. But even when I put aluminum on myself, I still couldn't get throught. Like there was some sort of barrier on it. 1 month passed. My grades started dropping, and missing people flyers were put up for you everywhere. Another month passed. I stopped talking. By the 3rd month, I was ready to just die and end it all."

Sam gasped again. Cathy continued.

"I started wearing darker colors, and Danny started tuning everybody out. Another month passed, and the...the..." Cathy swallowed hard "I was put in a temporary juvenile home."

Sam started to cry. Cathy's cheerful, happy-go-lucky personality didn't deserve to be locked up in a prison. She hadn't done anything wrong. She had just been caring for her. Someone cared about her.

"Wendy had reported me for...for....she saw me...me.." Cathy took a deep breath, and stopped talking. A cold, nervous, sick shiver ran up Sam's spine. She had a feeling of what was coming. The dark colors, lack of talking....

"Cathy." Sam said in a stern, yet shaky voice. She swallowed hard. "Cathy, show me your arm." She had never thought that those words would ever have to come out of her mouth, especially to Cathy.

Cathy turned to face Sam. And slowly, pulled up her left sleeve. Sam gasped loudly.

"OH CATHY!"

"What?!?!? Huh?? Is that all you've got to say!!! huh?? I cut myself for you, and you say: OH CATHY!.

"..."

"!!!"

The blood started to drip onto the ground. There were several rather deep gashes towards the upper of her arm. Cathy ripped open a bag she'd brought with her from the real world. There was a black case she took out . She zipped it open and dumped out a bunch of sharp, thin instruments. Sam just stared at them with her mouth hanging open. Turning around she saw that Danny and Chris had slept through ALL of this. Cathy jumped up and started to walk away.

"DO NOT COME AFTER ME. JUST...JUST LEAVE ME ALONE. AND...AND SHUT UP!!" Cathy said walking off.

"Cathy!" Sam said getting up "Be reasonable!"

"NO!!" Cathy screamed now walking backwards, still away from her. She threw her hands up over her head in a disgusted motion. "I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU ALL!! BUT MOSTLY YOU!" She said. Cathy took the black case in her hands and threw hard it at Sam it hit her directly in the nose. Sam started to cry. Not because of the pain of her newly broken nose, but so much as the cause of it. Cathy hated her. Her best, I mean _ex_-best friend HATED her. Cathy laughed at Sam's tears and ran away. Far, far away.

Sorry this chapter is a little OC, but there are only 2 left! Luvs ya! --Katie P.S. You know you wanna click the box. You know you wanna..... o_0


	12. Chapter 12

Hello all FanFic peeps! It's certainly been a while hasn't it? XD: NO I HAVE NOT DIED! It is amazing what you guys will conclude! XD I am so sorry! Please forgive me! I have been so busy on my deviant ART account... [Username: sheshet] well I sure hope this chapter makes up for it! LOOOOOONG CHAPPIE! Might be a bit confusing, but please, try to stay with me! Any question or comments, you can review and/or PM me. Here goes! Love you all! -- Katie 3 Chappie 12:

Chapter 12

Sam awoke to the bright sunlight warm on her eyelids. Sleepily blinking them open a few times, she wearily sat up, resting her back against the dusty metallic surface of the ship, slowly.

"Mmmm" Sam mumbled, still half asleep.

She groped around for something to help herself get up. Reaching up above her, Sam grasped the handle of the dusty ship, and slowly hoisted herself to her feet. As she yawned, the skin on Sam's cheeks cracked with residue of dry tears. She felt her cheeks rashly until she remembered last night. Sam gently rubbed her nose a shock of excruciating pain shock throughout it.

"Ah!" she cried and winced at the pain.

Instantly Sam though of how Cathy had run off like a maniac the night before. She desperately contemplated over what to do- if she went after her alone, there was no telling what would happen. However, if she brought along Chris and Danny, maybe the team could talk some sense into her. That sounded best.

"Why on Earth didn't Chris and Danny even flinch last night over all that screaming?" Sam thought to herself in wonder.

She quietly peered over the edge of the ship, and into the pit of it. There they were, still sleeping soundly. Sam stretched out an arm to try and shake Chris awake.

"Chris....Chris.....c'mon, get up....."

Still no response. Sam frowned. She shook him harder this time. Some kind of sound between a groan and a deflating balloon emitted from his throat. Just then, Sam had that horrible feeling, where you know you're being watched. At first she began to turn around slowly, then she whipped around- blaster at ready. No one. She looked up, and shot a glance towards the sky, relieved. And then it happened. She saw it. Actually, it was what she didn't see that made her stomach turn. No ships. And the sky was a vibrant pink and orange, rather than the opaque black she'd encountered before. All the assumed days they had been in this world, the atmosphere had been night only, with zooming neon ships filling its sky. Now it was empty. Something was up here. Chris was still in his fetal position. Okay, now something was definitely wrong here. She smacked Danny across the head- hard. The same weird sound came from his throat. Sam decided to take charge. She heaved herself into the ship, and into the cockpit. Searching for the keys, she realized that since this was Chris's ship he probably had them. Blushing a deep red, Sam timidly reached her hand into his slim pocket on the side of his thigh. The odd shaped key was soon produced, and Sam hurriedly injected them into their slot. The entire thing vibrated violently, and then slowly began to hover over the ground. A weird hissing sound came from the back seat. Sam turned so that she could see out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh dear GOD" she screamed, temporarily losing control of the ship. Danny has sat up and a thin stream of smoke was trailing into the pastel sky from the back of his neck. He began screaming in pain and failing his arms about blindly.

"S-S-SAM HELP ME!" The sizzling grew louder and began to crackle as blood began to stream from his neck onto his bright red suit. Sam was speechless, her brown skin suddenly paling to a buttery white. She couldn't move. Just then, she spotted the same black figure she had the night before. And then, she understood. She knew she only had one shot at this. Switching the ship on auto pilot, she clambered to the back pit, and snatched Danny by the shoulder. New tears began to run over her dried ones.

"I'm so sorry" She said in a hoarse, barely audible whisper.

Then she threw her best friend over the railing of the ship, head first, and everything seemed to go in slow motion. He screamed as he fell going down, down, down....down. He kept going, and Sam clasped a hand to her mouth tightly, shutting her eyes as more tears kept streaming down- wetting her palms.

"NO" came a voice from the dark figure.

Sam whipped her head around to face him, about 200 yards away, and she knew it would be impossible for him to hear her, but she said it anyway.

"You are evil" She whispered, feeling herself tense up.

The mask came off, relieving a devastated Jeremy.

"That's okay." He mouthed back, and Sam gasped. "You'll never figure it out."

Then he was gone- just like that.

Sam switched the ship off of auto pilot, and began the search for Cathy- alone. She just couldn't keep herself from crying. Her nose was starting to run into her gaping mouth- her body wrecked with sobbing spasms. It wasn't even about what had just happened with Danny. Well, it was, but that wasn't the main reason. Ever since she had gotten here, all Sam had wanted to do was to get Chris, and get out. She had no idea any of this would settle into place along with it. A familiar voice echoed in her head as she contemplated this thought.

"Now you know you can have your cake and eat it too." Sam began to sob harder, thus pushing her foot down harder on the accelerator. It was Chris's voice, stuck in her head. He was mocking her.

"No he isn't" Sam thought spitefully, her once shimmering honey eyes, now turning a bloodshot red.

Chris had disappeared from the backseat long ago, even before the Danny incident. Weird things were starting to happen.

"Scratch that", Sam thought to herself, "Things are just getting weirder." With that sudden thought that ruckus her mind, Sam with hit with reality, and this time it felt good.

She flipped a bright blue lever up, and this time the ship was permitted to its 'hovercraft stage'. Sam threw her hands in the air and lifted her wet face to the sky, salty tears running into the cracks of her mouth. Smiling, the skin was cracked on her dry, salty cheeks. When Danny fell overboard, no shiny, retro bulletin board had appeared! And according to Cathy, Danny hadn't lost a life yet- still leaving him with at least 2 more. There was no crackling of the light speed numbers; clicking their way back down to zero to start his life over. Samantha beamed up at the empty pastel sky, and right at that moment, she wanted everybody to smile with her. Danny was not gone. And judging by the board, neither was Chris. That last thought made Sam's heart leap to the sky and she felt invincible. She still had a chance; a chance to love- a chance to confess. There was hope after all.

Now the only thought that remained, was that if the passengers once seated in the backseat were fake, then how did they end up there, and where were her real friends? Speaking of friends, this whole thing still did not explain Cathy's odd, ad hostile behavior the night before. As far as Sam was concerned, she had watched Cathy the entire night, and she hadn't left her side. When could such a drastic change in attitude and the basic bubbly aura she carried have occurred? Everybody around her was either dying off, or turning on her. How was she going to do the impossible? Sam fought back more tears in the back of her eyes- she refused to become a crybaby. The only way the MBC had once stood before was all of them working together. Sam recalled multiple times where they had all gotten engaged into various arguments here and there. And every time they did, neither of them had succeeded. It was here and now- standing in the cockpit of the dusty yet bright blue spaceship, did Samantha realize why they were the MBC. Each one of them had something the others did not. If her friends were against her- there was nothing Sam could do about it- she was toast. And whether they liked it or not, they were too, because the only way any of them were to survive in this crazed world, was to find each other, and become one again.

As Sam slowly sunk into the soft and spongy red velvet of the seats, another thought hit her. Sam silently cursed herself for not bring along some Aspirin for the journey. Okay, she knew that Danny and Chris were taken some time during the latter night, and instead replaced with ticking lethal replicas. San gasped. That would totally explain why neither of them had even stirred during her and Cathy's very heated argument! They were robots, or something like that- and robots don't sleep! Slowly but steadily Sam was sewing this horror together, stitch by stitch. Wait, they had only awoken when Sam was fully awake the next morning and on her way to find Cathy.

Gasping once again she exclaimed: "Ticker bots!"

Her mouth nearly fell open at the transformation such a technology must've had to undergo to become what she had seen! The once playful and entertaining toys were now lethal weapons fit to kill- replicating themselves to whomever they please! Ticker bots were the only device Sam could think of with a special 'time release feature' on them. Sam's breath caught in her throat and turned raspy. Somebody was watching her. They set The Danny off right when she'd gotten into the ship, and taken off in it. Who? Who else was there?

"Oh...no.." Sam could let herself believe this. "Jeremy?" The nerd was watching and plotting this whole thing?!?!? That's why he'd been missing from school while Chris was gone! That's exactly who she'd seen the same night Chris had reappeared! She'd thought it was just her mind, but it was him!

"Oh god." Sam's head was spinning. Everything was falling into place. He was turning them against each other....It actually made sense! Cathy- the night before. Somehow he got her to turn away from Sam and instead become an enemy. However, what she didn't know was that rather than angry, Sam had been hurt by the acts created by Cathy. Judging by her past experiences, one would think that Sam would be mad instead. Sam stuck out her index finger, representing Cathy.

"Alright so that's how she got evil" she said quietly to herself- deep in thought.

What about Danny? He didn't do anything to her...Sam concentrated over the past events. Oh how hard it was to remember things in a world with no sense of time! The only thing could come up with was that Danny had left also....and he had! This too made sense! He probably ran after Cathy while Sam was busy sobbing and tending to her broken nose! She held out her middle finger next to the other.

"Okay, two down, one to go"

Now how had Chris turned against her? The entire time he was nothing but sweet to her...and charming....and handsome...- WOAH! Sam caught herself and blushed a light red even though nobody heard it. Wait a minute...the only people who were supposed to even know what ticker bots were, are the MBC. And out of the four of them …....only ...Chris knew how to assemble them!

"Well then", Sam thought to herself glumly, "Now you know how they, each got away from you, don't you?" Sam felt like crying again, but this time, she was out of tears.

So many questions she had! How long had he been following her and the gang? How long had he been plotting this whole thing? Why would Jeremy do something like this? What was his motive? How the heck did he get into the video game? Was this connected somehow to the Octovores? And most importantly, where were her friends now? Would she ever see them again? Her heart felt like it was being stabbed with knives, and then, just when she was starting to figure things out-- the lights went out.

"Nei....*snort*...nei, nei, nei" There was this disgustingly familiar riot of snorting and laughter about her. Sam whipped her head around to see if this could be true. Sure enough, there was that same red-headed freak with old wooden glasses and tape around the middle staring back at her. He was standing on some sort of a hovering snowboard, and yet again, he was fully clothed in his ninja outfit.

"You.....y-y-you.... freak!" Sam screamed. It was all she could think of. She'd been stripped of her blaster during 'the incident' with Danny, or should I say, some out of whack ticker bots. About 5 whole seconds passed with Jeremy only staring at her with an unusually evil smirk across his face. Then he broke the silence-

"So little Samantha", he started off with a very unusual hint of authority and coolness in his voice. Sam glared at him. If only she were just a bit closer...Although the laugh was still the same, there was something new about him. "Just because you think have finally figured out where you little playmates are....you think it's all....over?" Jeremy sneered. He stared at her in a triumphant sort of bewilderment, as though he were proud of her ignorance. Sam leapt for his board- there was no time for his stupid small talk in her schedule. She was gonna find her friends ASAP and get the heck out of here...or so she thought.

Somewhere in the deep chambers....

"Where am I? ...ugh.....my head...ah....my arms...I can't even feel them... why can't I move my head...ugh...."

"S-S-am?"

"No, it's just me Cath ...sorry"

-sobs**- **

**"**Cath**? **

-sniff-

"Cathy?!?"

-sniffle- "I'm sorry....It's just that..."-sob-"I just have this weird feeling that I hurt Sam....." -sniffle-

"Wha-.....I can't remember a thing!"

-sob- "Me neither...It's just this feeling..."-much sobbing- -whispers- "I'm sorry Samantha"

Enjoy? Gosh this took FOREVER! Hope you like! Please keep reading and reviewing. Feedback is greatly appreciated! I might be publishing this, so reviews are wanted! Take care, and happy holidays! ~Katie M.


	13. Chapter 13

Hey awesome readers and reviewers! I finally decided to make time to update my fanfic "unknown love"! Thank you all so much for being my motivation in continuing this story :) You guys are awesome! Hope you love chappie 13! Review please! I love each and every one of your reviews that I receive. :) ~Katie

Chapter 13

"MMM! Mfffmfffmmmmm!"

This was all that was made of Sam's crucial muffled struggle to break free of the prison guards' deathly grip that bound her to the metal stretcher. She'd been blind folded but the material was so sheer it enabled her to see the blurry passing of lights mounted to the ceiling as she was being carried. Where to? She had no idea. The gag stuffed in her mouth made the sides of her throat itch. All Sam knew was that she couldn't move her arms or legs and that where ever she was being taken, it wasn't good. Amid the casual swearing exhibited by her prison guards as they recklessly carried her, dangerously swinging the stretcher, Sam could hear the passing by of shrieking as she was taken down what she could only assume to be a hallway of some sort. What she could only imagine to be loud machinery clanged in her eardrums and caused a stab of fear to echo throughout her heart. This sounded like a place of torture. Was this the place where her friends had been taken? Sam could only pray that this had not been the case and that where ever they were, they were safe. Just then a horrid, stale-like smell inhabited her entire nose. It was by far the worst thing she had ever smelled. Sam hardly knew how to describe it. It didn't just smell bad, it actually smelled, deadly. Like burnt rubber and something that had been long dead mixed together. She couldn't help but wince and cough a bit as they passed through it. A prison guard noticed her discomfort and laughed loudly, Sam could feel the spit landing on her face and squirmed even more.

"Well aren't you a newbie!" The guard screamed with a deranged delight. "Don't worry, after a while you'll get used to it. They all do. "

They? There were others here? Other what? Monsters? Humans? Her friends? Sam's stomach did a somersault as the butterflies fluttered throughout it at the mere thought of her friends being imprisoned in such a disgusting place of…torture? She still had yet to discover more.

The other guard remained silent and after what seemed like forever, came to a halt. After all the turns and curves and elevators they'd mounted and descended, Sam knew that it would be near impossible for her to find her way out of this place, especially by herself. So many passwords had been mumbled in exchange to pass through the doors and gates and so many secret passage ways taken and changing of prison guards to carry her recklessly about the place, Sam could do nothing now but lay and well…not enjoy the ride. Sam couldn't tell if she'd been laid on the floor or a table of some sort. Just then a nasally laugh with injections of snorting reached her ears, and she knew exactly who was hovering above her.

"Nice work. Retreat."

These were the commands Jeremy barked at what Sam assumed to be the prison guards. Wow, he even treated his own workers like crap. Sam wanted to growl at him, to hurt him the way he'd hurt her, but she knew that now was neither the time nor the place. For now, she just needed to keep quiet long enough to learn her whereabouts and the condition of her friends, after that, she could handle him. The blindfold was ripped off if Sam's eyes and in its place was Jeremy. Sam tried her best to avoid his eyes and instead to catch a glimpse of her surrounding in a feeble attempt to plan an escape for later. However, her surroundings were all the same. Red walls. Great. This was now officially going to be impossible. Jeremy took two of the poles extruding from the make-shift metal stretcher and dragged Sam into a dark room.

"…Samantha" came the harsh whisper in her ear.

"MMMffmmmmfmm!" Sam highly objected to the use of her full name, especially from thus creep.

"What?"

Jeremy leaned his ear closer to her taped and gagged mouth as if asking her to repeat herself. Just then he ripped the duct tape from her mouth, the gag coming out as well, causing a shriek of pain to escape her.

"Tell me about Cathy, Sam. Does she love me?"

"No."

"Liar."

"What's wrong with you? Ugh!" Sam screamed and began to shake and move her arms and legs in a frenetic attempt to free them of their chains.

"Stop it! Stop that! Just calm do—"

"WHERE ARE MY FRIENDS!" Sam screamed.

"SHUT UP!" Jeremy yelled in Sam's face so hard that he began to turn a slight shade of red.

Just then a light of some sort lit up half of the room, allowing Sam to finally catch a glance of the area. A soft "woah" escaped Sam's lips as she stared around in amazement. The room was much bigger than she'd thought. There was what seemed like a tower of a bookshelf lining an entire wall of the monstrous room. It was filled with books of all different types, varying in size and color. Along the other side of the room was a computer system that took up the entire space the wall provided. Squinting her eyes Sam could tell that about half of the computer system was made up of solely dozens of security cameras—flashing back and forth from the halls, to the prison guards, to what appeared to be multiple cells. Jeremy sat in a large velvet chair viewing the system and quickly & angrily typing on the master keyboard. Apparently she was inside Jeremy's study. Sam failed to catch a glimpse of Cathy, Danny and Chris as she could see that each of the cells was occupied, making distinguishing her friends impossible. Muttering and cursing to himself Jeremy launched out of the chair in a fury and headed to the incredible sight Sam's eyes be held in front of her. The entire counter of the study was covered in beakers and test tubes and all sorts of containers varying in shape and size. However, the variety of color they each with held was even more shocking. Shades of red, yellow, blue and everything in between were spotted in each and every beaker and tube. Jeremy snatched up a syringe from a row of other syringes and set it to the side of the counter, all the while constantly muttering and swearing to himself. As he continued about his business as though he'd momentarily forgotten Sam was still there, Sam was able to catch a bit of his conversation.

"Stupid, MBC…I hate them! Hate them all…each and every last one of them. D*** it, I'll show them. I'll show them exactly what true hate is." Here he momentarily halted is work to turn his attention to a rather large beaker to the side containing a dark orange liquid. There was a label on the jar with the words 'hate: prototype' scrawled across it. Jeremy smiled warmly turned his attention back to his work.

"Love, ha. There's no such thing. It's just so unfair." Here he laughed to himself momentarily and began measuring and mixing multiple liquids of different color from a wide variety of containers.

"Wow, and of all the people…Danny" Here Sam assumed that he was referring to Cathy and her crush on Danny. He was now finished mixing the liquids and sent the resulting purplish liquid through a spiral tube. Sam could hear it bubbling out of the tube as it deposited the contents into a beaker at the end of the process. Once again the terrible smell was erupted into the room and Sam couldn't help but gag and cough. Jeremy chuckled quietly to himself as he removed the syringe's cap and slowly poured the beaker's contents into it, then placing the cap back onto the syringe tightly. He slowly turned around, syringe in hand, and a wicked smile slowly curving across his darkened face. He then gently flicked the syringe and squirted its cap until a small bit of the horrid purple liquid sputtered out and onto the floor, a stain in its place. Jeremy smiled again at Sam and began to walk towards her with the syringe.

"Nighty night Samie. Let's see you in action. Paralyzed."

Sam's eyes widened and she struggled as hard as she could, trying to avoid the syringe but Jeremy had her pinned. The last thing she could remember was a sharp pain in her neck, wild laughter [Jeremy's] and then…she couldn't move. Everything began to fade out.

Sam could still feel her herself being carried as Jeremy called for more prison guards to come for Sam. It was another rough ride, this time shorter, and she was thrown into a dark, hard room with a loud THUD. And then all was silent.

Next door…

"Danny…Danny! Did you hear that man?"

"Ugh, oh Chris, dude are you okay? Chris, are you there man?"

"I'm right here Danny."

"Oh, dude, I can't see a thing, it's freakin' pitch black in here! We've gotta get out of here…ugh oh man, my head….dude my neck is killing me."

"I know, mine too." Chris sighed heavily. "I miss Sam."

"Hey where is she…and Cathy?"

"Well Cathy's in the seat between us but…well I wish I knew where Sam was. Hey, did you hear that thud a minute ago?" Chris asked Danny frantically. "What if it's them again? What if they're coming to give us another injection?"

"Dude, I don't know what's gonna happen, but whatever that was, I'm sure it isn't good."

"You're right, we'd better not take any chance and just get the heck out of here. But how? I don't know about you but I think I might be paralyzed, I can't move my arms or legs."

"Wake Cathy up"

"I'm up, Danny"

"Oh hey Cathy! Thank god you're okay"

Cathy could feel her cheeks burning even in the pitch black cell.

"Um, thanks Danny. I'm really glad you're okay too…"

"Ahem" Chris cleared his throat, clearly peeved. "Sam?"

"Oh yeah!" Danny and Cathy both said in a shameful unison.

Chris sighed heavily. Sometimes he felt like he was the only one that cared about Sam. I mean really cared about her. Ever since he'd been lost in this world of Blastertron 360, Sam was all he could think about. It started out as a hopeless crush, but overtime, they'd slowly bonded together into (what Chris hoped might be) a close relationship. Sure it wasn't an official couple relationship, but Chris felt as though he may have Sam's trust, and that meant a lot to him. Sam was all he could ever imagine in a girl. She was strong, yet caring. She was feminine yet not afraid to get dirty. Chris sighed again. Just the mere thought of Sam being in some cold, hard cell like him made his stomach flip with an indescribable guilt. The girl of his dreams was locked away in a disgusting place of torture, and she was probably hungry, cold and confused. All because of him. Not to mention how far away she was from him. If it hadn't been for him and his disgusting nerd-like habits… Playing video games while the others are out on a mission. Wow. Some friend. Sam would've been out there, right by her friends' sides, fighting the enemy. Actually, come to think of it, she had been. Chris doubted that Sam would even want anything else to do with him after all this. Who would blame her… But, the way she'd looked into his eyes… when Chris saved her [and Cathy] from Jeremy's burning ship. Those big, beautiful honey eyes… Chris could feel himself blushing at just the memory. Gosh he missed her… if only he could see her just one more time… oh the things he'd say. Chris had never felt anything like this ever before—for anyone. It was like…a strong affection of some sort. Like a soft obsession. Given that he was probably one of the nerdiest kids in school, aside from Jeremy, he was indeed bound to cling to anything [or in this case anyone] that returned his affection to him. It's funny how suddenly becoming stranded in such a chaotic world as this Chris's mind has cleared so well. His heart just ached so much… and for Sam. He missed her. He wanted her. Just her. The answer to such a complicated riddle as this was finally made evident to Chris, at that very moment. All the years of distant caring, all those missions together, all the time he'd spent with her. The answer was so clear now. He loved her. Chris loved her. Sam. Chris loved Sam. This realization kept repeating itself over and over inside Chris's mind as he began to take it all in—finally. Chris felt the corners of his mouth slowly and unknowingly turn from their frown of worry into a small smile of happiness and satisfaction. Chris loved Sam. The smile grew bigger. And bigger. Until Chris found himself grinning ear to ear in the darkness. His heart felt all warm, and tingly. It even started beating differently—faster and unevenly. He liked it. He loved it. This feeling… it was just so amazing. Now Chris needed to find her. He needed to break free of this crummy jail and find Sam. Tell her…that he loved her. He had to.

"Hey Chris…" There was silence. Chris was still 'In his own little world' "Um…..Chris?" Cathy said a bit louder. Meanwhile Danny had dozed off [of course]. She'd been wondering to herself how Chris really felt about Sam. I mean, she knew that all the signs were there, but she herself had been concerned for Sam, so deeply, when Chris had disappeared. She [Sam] had literally gone boy-crazy. All over Chris. She [Cathy] needed to be the best friend she could be to Sam and protect her. Just in case something crazy happened and Chris didn't feel that same way that Sam did, Cathy needed to protect her and prevent it from happening. Heartbreak was the last thing they needed in this crazy world. Cathy had made it up in her mind to prepare herself to ask Chris what he thought of Sam, so she took a deep breath and said…

"Chris?" Still no answer. "Do you-"

"I love you Sam" Chris unknowingly whispered quietly to himself. I guess just sorta...slipped out. Cathy smiled wide to herself with relief and let out a soft sigh. Sam was safe. No more hurt, pain or heartbreak. For now.

Once again there was silence. Until, something finally clicked inside of Chris's mind that words had just been spoken to him.

"Oh! Yeah Cathy?"

"Nevermind."

"What is it Cath? We're friends, you know that. You can tell me anything."

"yeah, I know…I just think I might already know the answer" She smiled again.

Consciousness was returning. However the pain that came with it made Sam instantly regret it. Sharp stabs of pain seemed to flash all throughout the veins in her neck, not to mention the searing migraine spreading above her brow. The darkness within the room seemed to consume Sam, as she lay in a sore and swollen heap in a corner of the pitch black concrete room. Her body was nothing but a numb pile of failure. Unable to move any part of her body, Sam lay in a daze. Her mind ached with its contents. Sam stared drowsily and blindly into the depths of the room, pondering her future. Actually, she had no idea what to make of the present. Never had she ever felt like such a failure. A loser. A horrible friend. Just…a failure. This whole disarray of a world... it had turned Sam's life upside down. She didn't even know what to make of herself now. Her heart ached with confusion and stress more so than sadness. She felt like crying but had run out of tears long ago. Where was she? How long had she been here? And oh gosh her friends … just so much … chaos. Not to mention no progress at all. Sam tried to remember the last events that happened before she ended up here. But, all she could remember was…Jeremy…and…his study. Yes, that was it! She had been taken to him in order…to gain answers? Was that it? Ugh, her head was just killing her, and trying to remember events that seemed so very old definitely wasn't helping. Maybe another time…but wait, her friends! She had to save them! Sam's thoughts were cut short as light suddenly was shone into the room revealing a shadow in the doorway.

Next door…

Cathy opened her eyes. She saw…wait, she could see! Realization hit Cathy as she looked around the room in amazement. Rhapsodians had night vision, enabling her to see in the dark room she, Danny and Chris were being held in. Last night's sleep must've rested her enough to recharge her powers. Looking around her, she could see that her hands were bound above her in a hanging fashion and her feet bound to a chair of some sort that she was sitting in. It was a very odd chair because it seated all 3 of them in a circular fashion so that they were each facing a different direction outwards, closely resemble three chairs with their backs turned inward so that they were in a circular fashion. This allowed communication between them to be extremely 'blind' and limited.

"Danny… DANNY!" Cathy yelled as softly as possible. Finally The Danny was awake. Cathy heard another movement behind her and knew immediately that Chris was already awake.

"You guys!" Cathy hissed at them both. "I can see!"

"How—"Danny started.

"I have night vision."

"Oh yeah!"

"Look up and describe the chains we're bound in. Maybe we can break out if Cathy can help describe it to us." Chris said shakily.

"Chris, try to stretch your arms out and unhook your wrists from the chain above you."

"I can't reach" Chris said struggling. Did he mention he wasn't the physical one in the group?

"Sit up straight!"

"I am!"

"No you aren't, I can see you!" Chris was reminded again of why he liked Sam so much.

"You're the one with the stretchable limbs! You try!" Chris hissed back at Cathy, clearly peeved.

"I can reach but I'm not strong enough to lift it!"

"And what makes you think I am"

"I'll just ask Danny." Silence was produced, and Cathy and Chris both could hear a faint snoring. "DANNY!"

"Huh? Oh, what?" He yawned.

"Try to stretch your arms up and push your chains up and over the hook that's suspending you. You're the tallest and strongest." Cathy whispered. 'Oh I see. He gets a whisper and I get a hissy snap. I see.' Chris thought to himself quietly. He really missed Sam.

"I know" Danny said proudly and arrogantly.

"DANNY!"

"Okay, okay! Geez…"

Danny followed Cathy's instructions and in a while after much grunting and sighing, his arms were free. Now for the legs. This was going to be a long night.

Thank you all so much for the amazing support, including the nominations for MBC's Top 20 2009. I was voted first place and I just want thank you all again for the amazing friendship and kind reviews you all have sent me. Hope you loved this chapter. More to come soon. [hopefully] Please review! Love you. ~ Katie


	14. Chapter 14

Heyyy! It's Katie Minnie, bringing you chapter 14 of Unknown Love! Thanks a lot for being wonderful reviewers! Your feedback is always encouraged and appreciated. :) Hope you enjoy this chapter, more to come soon.

Chapter 14

Sam pulled back sharply, as if to shrink away from the already distant doorway. The result was an intense cascade of pain that shocked and bolted down her weak spine. Her body quaked lowly with aftershock and she lay in a useless sore heap, unable to shield herself from whatever creature was standing in the doorway. As Sam strained her eyes from an uncomfortable view on the concrete floor, she was able to make out the silhouette. Its slenderness and small frame indicated to Sam, with relief, that it was not Jeremy, and most likely not a guard. Looking back again, Sam could just make out a feminine figure from the silhouette, a dress shape and lengthy hair giving way. Still unsure whether this creature were good or bad, Sam felt butterflies lurch in the pit of her stomach and flutter into her throat as the silhouette began to advance towards her, and the light behind it suddenly disappear.

Footsteps. Wet, barefoot, footsteps. Sam willed herself to cringe away as the persona's presence grew nearer. The feet lightly slapped against the hard floor, echoing softly throughout the darkness. Louder and louder; closer and closer, until suddenly, they ceased. Sam could hear her heart beating wildly as her strained eyes tried to pierce the darkness for identification. Suddenly, she could feel their warm breath on her face_. Click_...Bright sparks flew, but only for an instant. Sam held her breath involuntarily, her heart pounding and her mind racing_. Click_…nothing…then_, Click_…the cell was illuminated by a single flame, and Sam suddenly found herself staring into a rugged girl's dirty face. She gasped, as did Sam, and drew back from her a little. Sam was speechless. Literally, her vocal chords were nonfunctional due to her paralyze.

She stared in wonder at the trembling girl before her. Skin which seemed to once be fair was blotched with a mixture of dirt and bruises; dried blood created a crimson stain on her temple, and her hair was caked with filth, a thin veil of cobwebs upon her head and clinging to her rugged dress, complete with dust. However, her eyes were a complete opposite of her appearance. They were a pale greenish-blue, and were so very clear that Sam could almost make out her reflection. The girl was boney and underweight. Her lack of hygiene was predominant through her brittle and coarse hair, and the stench that she carried in the cell with her presence. Their stare was continuous for about 10 seconds. Then the dirty girl spoke.

"Hullo."

The voice that emitted from her throat was low, raspy and hoarse. As if she hadn't spoken for nearly months. Sam remained in a wondering trance, gazing at the girl through her blurred vision. Sam's lower lip twitched in a failed attempt to speak. The flame emitted from a lighter in the dirty girl's hand ricocheted across her face, and filled the walls with dancing yellow-orange.

As if sensing Sam's fear, she mustered a weak smile and, drawing closer to Sam, she lowly whispered, "I am a friend, please, don't be alarmed". After thoroughly scanning the dirty girl up and down with her eyes, Sam figured that worst was already here, so there couldn't be much harm in letting down her guard a little. Again her lip twitched, in an attempt to maybe exchange a few words. Again this attempt failed her. Just then Sam could hear loud voices outside the cell. The dirty girl whipped her head towards the door in frenzy and the look that came over her face was so intense Sam couldn't think of any words to describe it. Such an extremity of fear was produced over her face; it seemed to nearly contort it. Her clear eyes widened and her mouth fell agape. The shaft in her neck produced bulging veins and her body quaked in fear. _Click_…The flame was quickly out. Darkness reappeared, seeming to consume the light whole. Sam's head was spinning with questions, her mouth unable to produce the inquiring words. The dirty girl frantically buried herself between Sam and the wall. Sam's eyes darted back and forth wildly, trying to keep up.

Although a vast majority of the conversation held outside the cell was muffled and unheard, Sam was able to eavesdrop a few pieces here and there:

"You don't know? Tell me how you don't know how the main set of keys got in this cell door!"

"…"

"Answer me!"

"Honestly boss, master, I was just napping during break and all of a sudden…I mean they were right under my belt and when I woke up…well"

"Well?"

"Boss, master, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry…It..it'll never happen again, promise, I'll make sure—"

"Oh I know it won't happen again! How am I supposed to trust you as a guard if you're f***ing freeing the prisoners? Exactly, I can't let you make this type of slip up again.."

"But boss—"

"But nothing! It's over. Explain to me one reason why you should stay. Ezra is missing again and so were your keys!" The dirty girl stirred next to Sam yet remained hidden. "Is it that hard to juggle keeping up with your d*** keys and keeping the prisoners locked up? That was all I asked of you and you couldn't even do that! "

"…"

There was a shuffling of feet outside the cell and muffled conversation.

"Somebody get tabs on Ezra! Where the h*** is Ezra?"

There was silence.

_Click_...the flame was back. The dirty girl faced Sam.

"This may hurt a little" she whispered. Sam's eyes darted to the girl's hands, where she protruded a syringe filled with clear liquid. Without further conversation the dirty girl carefully inserted the syringe's long needle halfway into Sam's thigh and injected the liquid quickly. Immediately Sam began to feel the life coming back to her and the feeling tingle back into her body. After a few minutes Sam was able to slowly rise into a sitting position. The girl leaned Sam's back against the wall for her. Sam cleared her throat twice, and eventually managed to speak the words, "Who are you."

The dirty girl smiled weakly and she replied and a lighthearted hoarse voice

"My name is Ezra and I am a friend"

Sam stared quietly at Ezra.

"You..they…you escaped?"

"Would you like to leave this place?" her hoarse voice asked Sam.

Avoiding the question... Sam thought to herself. She'd address it later.

"Wha—I…of course!...Don't you? Wait…how did you...how did you get here? Did..Jeremy—" Sam was utterly confused. Did Ezra know her already? Did Ezra know where her friends were? Who is Ezra really and what is this talk about her escape? How long had she been here? Was she even a prisoner? How in the world did she just escape? And most of all why was she in her cell? Sam was confused beyond belief and hardly knew where to begin.

Who is Ezra really? What about Danny, Cathy and of course what about Chris? Hmmm…next chapter! :D Review please! ~Katie


	15. Chapter 15

Whoo! Two updates in a week! :D I really hope you enjoy the chapter! Review please! Feed back is both encouraged and appreciated.

Chapter 15

"Really! Truly in all seriousness!"

Sam just wasn't buying it. Ezra was trying to convince her that she had no recollection of how she'd gotten here and become prisoner.

"I just can't remember a thing..." Ezra whispered, her voice trailing off.

"How can you not remember anything?" Sam cried softly. "Surely you must remember something..or someone! What about Jeremy?"

"The red haired on?" Ezra shuddered at the thought. He's so…evil. I still don't know…I've been here as long as I can remember" Ezra whispered. The melancholic mood of the gloomy room expanded into curiosity as Sam remembered Jeremy and the guards' conversation about her escape.

"Jeremy…him and the guards. They were talking about you."

Ezra nodded her head a little. "I heard."

"Well…is it true? Did you escape? All by youself?" Ezra grinned roughly.

"Well it's not like they would've helped me" she said teasingly.

"But…didn't you have chains...or anything on you? You weren't paralyzed?" Sam stared at Ezra in wonder. The whole idea seemed so farfetched.

"Nope. At least I never remember being chained up or anything. But I do remember a long time ago from now, the guards used—" Ezra swallowed hard in recollection. Sam tuned in completely- it looked important. " They used to sometimes throw...another one into the room with me." Sam was confused.

"Another-?" Ezra looked away, focusing her attention on her dirt caked nails, swallowing and avoiding contact. Then she looked up.

"There used to be others…of us...there were more, children" Sam raised an eyebrow and sat up more, clearly interested.

"Really? Well how many more—where are they now? Did they escape—?" Ezra stared at the floor, stone faced, emotionlessly.

"I can only remember a few…" Ezra's voice trailed off, lost in thought. Just then Sam sat up straight, her cheeks flushed with an idea and chills vibrated down her back.

"Wait! What did they look like? Did any of them have blue eyes? Was there a blonde one—What about one with a purple—" Ezra shook her head. "Wait", Sam started up again, "are you sure? No, c'mon, think!" Her voice rose louder and louder until Ezra desperately clasped a dusty hand to Sam's mouth tightly.

"Please!" She whispered, wide-eyed. Sam nodded, ashamed. Ezra took her hand down slowly, and Sam whispered a quiet apology. Ezra nodded and finally spoke again.

"The children I remember weren't like that at all, they were all ways blind folded and their appearance was almost always obscured with cuts and bruises. I'm sure I wouldn't recognize them if I saw them again. Besides, what's it to you?" Ezra gazed at Sam in a confused daze, rubbing her temple gently with her fingertips. Sam held in an old sniffle.

"Nothing, I guess. Well, what I mean is…" Her voice trailed off. "I mean that they mean everything to me. Their my friends. It just feels so far away…they do…" She stared quietly at the floor, tired and confused, her heart throbbing with ache. Ezra shifted her legs and glanced up at Sam.

Anyway, the guards would just barge through the cell door on any day and drag a sack down the cell stairs. One of them would light a flame to see and the other would both hold one side of the sack and slam it down onto the hard concrete. It was a writhing, squirming sack, that I remember vividly." Ezra paused and shook her head, as if to clear it. "Whenever the sack squirmed, the guard with a free hand would take the tickler and strike the sack, until it moved no more." Ezra sunk down, and whispered the next to Sam, lowly. "Then" She said whispering and trembling gently. Sam peered into her crystal clear eyes, awaiting a continuation. "And then the guard would roughly untie the sack, and hastily turn it upside down. An out would tumble a child. A child that was once writhing and squirming and was probably once clean and well-mannered. But now that very child is lying on the hard concrete ground, anything but conscious, and they are bleeding and lying very, very still." Sam's mouth fell agape.

"They beat him? The child?" Ezra looked up in a stage of confusion, a small teardrop trickling out of the corner of her eye, escaping the clear gem and creating a clean track through the dirt on her face.

"What do you mean? Of course they beat him! They beat all of us!" Ezra whispered harshly. Sam could see harsh memories surfacing to Ezra's tired face. Sam bowed her head solemnly.

"Sorry. I.. I didn't—"

"It's fine" Ezra sighed and stared at the wall behind Sam.

"We were all beaten upon arrival. It's like some sort of demented housewarming and welcoming tradition—the newbie gets beaten. Then he's one of us. Until another comes along, then the same happens again." Ezra shook her head slowly, another tear escaping her eye, as she hurriedly swiped at it. Clearly disgusted she continued. "Just over and over and over, it's like it never ends." She paused, sniffing loudly and covering her own mouth, try to delay the tears, but to no effect. There was silence for a while, then Sam spoke, breaking the silence. Sam cleared her throat.

"I, ahem, I, umm…I'm sorry…I…I didn't know. But what happened to all of the kids?" Here Ezra looked at Sam, solemnly, and after a few seconds, she replied "So many children were being put in the same cell. Including myself. For some reason, I don't know why, I was never blind folded. I figured maybe they just forgot but I wasn't in chains either."

"Why didn't you make a break for it right then and there?"

"Scared. Do you have any idea what would've happened to me had those guards have caught me?" Sam was quiet, her stomach somersaulting at the mere thought. Ezra shivered. "Well, one day when the guards left my cell, I crept over to one of the other kids chained up and blindfolded. All of them were, but I crawled up to one in particular. She was whimpering, like the rest of them. She was scared, like the rest of them, like me. I whispered into her ear that if she promised to be quiet, I'd untie her blindfold, and try to break her out of her chains. The guards had already told us a while back that if we ever talked to each other or interacted, we'd get the tickler. But I had had enough. So, she agreed, and I slid the blind fold off of her eyes, and soon we were quietly whispering to ourselves, introducing ourselves and cooking up a scheme of escape. Her name was Delilah." Ezra covered her eyes for a moment, quietly crying, her body racked with spastic shivers. After a few minutes she sighed and continued. "We were surrounded by darkness, everyday, so I couldn't really see her face. I just remember her soft voice. She was scared, but she was sweet. After a few weeks, her chains were finally broken, but I had to use a boulder in the cell to do it. It messed up her ankle pretty bad, but she just wanted to be free." Ezra stopped once more, tears now streaming down her cheeks. "We said that next time the guards come in with a newbie, we'd make a bolt for it, out the cell door and run as fast as we could. Except that day never came. Instead, the others heard about the plan somehow, and eventually, the cell turned into an uproar with crying and pleading for them to be involved in the plan too. It would be stupid of us to think that we could all escape at once! There must have been at least 13 of us in the room!" Ezra paused and clasped a hand to her forehead, sniffling quietly. "So one day they just got too loud. The guards burst in with a flame and the tickler..and…They snatched up each of the kids, grabbing them this way and that, tossing them into this metal barrel with wheels. Delilah saw them, the guards. But it was too late by then, they'd already…they'd already seen her. The one with the flame charged over and for the first time, I saw her face. She had dingy and wild brown hair and light freckles on her cheeks. She had the brightest green eyes. So vibrant. " Ezra began to sob softly, and, still in a horrified trance, Sam weakly clasped a hand to her back, comforting her. "Time seemed to stand still, and for the first time she saw me, and she seemed to smile ever so faintly before turning towards the wild guards, charging towards her. The cell was in an uproar, and above it all, I remember so vividly a boy with bright orange hair and large wooden glasses standing at the very top of the staircase, looking down upon all of it. And smiling. Delilah ducked and swerved around a guard and sprinted as best she could with her bad ankle towards the doorway and never looked back, but she couldn't make it. A guard tackled her and 3 more pinned her to a metal stretcher and filed out of the doorway, rolling the metal barrels of blindfolded, starving and screaming children after her. The orange haired one seemed to be pleased and he followed the guards somewhere down the hallway. Then there was loud screams, children's screams. Then a loud and intense BANG. And a simply horrid stench followed. Then all was quiet. I was alone, in the room, the doorway was open. I was horrified but soon found myself barreling out of the door and never turning back, grabbing the keys out of the cell door on the way, and then just running. Until my legs nearly gave out. It's been years since that day, and they've only caught me once since then, but they didn't know I had keys." Ezra was quiet. "I escaped and have still been on the run since. Cell after cell, you get used to the place." Sam stared, open mouthed at this now remarkable girl before her.

"That…that…that's amazing!" Sam stared in wonder at the sniffling Ezra. "Oh my gosh..could never-!" Ezra smiled a little.

"Yes you could. I know it." She wiped her eyes, glancing up at Sam with a small smile. "I was there, in the study, when you first arrived. How else do you think I knew you cell number, and knew to bring your paralyze reliever. I saw how you weren't scared of him, the orange haired one—the master." She stared at Sam, smiling. Sam gave a light and partially nervous laugh.

"Jeremy."

"Is that his name?"

"Yeah, and he's a total creep" Ezra's laughter lightened the mood.

"You can say that again. But I mean I've been waiting for this moment for years, I haven't seen anything like it before, you're so unruly...rebellious! It's perfect! Together I'm sure we could finally free ourselves." Sam grinned, her mood was perking and up, as was Ezra's.

"Now you're talking my language." The combo was perfect. Ezra knew the twists and turns of this unknown prison, and Sam knew how to fight. And most of all, she knew how to hurt Jeremy. Really bad. It was perfect, hope was returning, the future was looking brighter and Sam's heart was soaring. But there was one more thing.

"You knew...others-?" Interrupting her train of thought, Ezra seemed as though she were holding her breath in waiting for a response.

"Oh." Sam recalled her noisy admission concerning Chris, Cathy and Danny. "Yeah, they came here with me; I don't know…I just don't know...where they could be…where he is…" Ezra cocked her head in question; her brow furrowed. Sam caught herself, blushing but Ezra was speaking again.

"You mean, there are others…you friends?" Sam nodded. "Locked up in here…somewhere?" Sam nodded again. Ezra smiled."We'll break them out too, don't worry." Sam's heart was dancing. Before she knew it she was giving Ezra a bone crushing hug.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ezra's smile widened.

"I can only hope we haven't bit off more than we can chew"

"Oh trust me, we haven't" Sam whispered cheerfully.

Click…the flame was burnt out. Darkness was back, but light now remained in Sam's heart. Hope lived.

"Wait how'd you get that lighter?" Sam asked nervously. If they were going to bust out they were going to need light. Ezra laughed softly in the darkness.

"There's more where that came from. Trust me." And with that Ezra was soon beckoning Sam in the darkness, as Sam followed her blindly, towards the large cell door. Ezra jingled the keys .

"Let's do this."

Next door…

"Dude, finally!" Danny sighed with relief. The guards were finally gone from outside of the cell. Having broken out of their chains a while ago [after much pain and effort], Danny, Chris and Cathy were huddled up next to the cell door, their ears pressed against it listening.

"Alright, let's go!" Cathy whispered loudly.

"For the last time, I'm sure there are guards in the hallways just waiting for people like you to just walk out of the cell door." Chris sighed. How many times did he have to repeat himself to Cathy? Right now, he didn't even care, he just wanted Sam. He needed to find her, to know that she's safe. They needed to talk.

"How do you know?" Cathy replied to Chris, slyly. Chris sighed again, this time heavily.

"Umm guys." Danny said quietly.

"WHAT?" Cathy and Chris yelled in unison.

"how are we gonna get out?"

Thanks for reading! Hope you like Chapter 15. Review please! ~ Katie


	16. Chapter 16

Yeah! Chapter 16! Let's do this! Check it out, sit down and get comfy…and READ! And of course REVIEW! Please. Thanks guys!

Cold, cold steel. Sam's cheeks numbed at the icy touch the steel door in front of her gave off onto her face. She'd blindly pressed her ear against it in the darkness. .._Creeeeeek_…Sam winced as the heavy door gave way to its rusty hinges' squeaks and squeals. She turned to glance questioningly back at Ezra, only to see darkness. The lighter was out, but Sam could still feel Ezra's warm, raspy breath on her shoulder, and knew that she was near. Panic turned to ease as Ezra's hand slid up Sam's, guiding itself blindly to the door handle that Sam was gripping.

"I've got it", Ezra whispered, almost reassuringly to Sam.

Sam paused, and hesitantly gave up the knob. Moving slowly yet persistently at just the right steady pace, Ezra was able to very slowly ease the heavy door open. A thin ray of sickly yellow light emitted from the hallway. The light was dim, yet its absence in the cell had left Sam and Ezra both blinded and its sudden reappearance burned her nocturnal eyes. Ezra, cleverly, had ducked her head behind her arm, shielding it upon opening it. Sam could see in the dim light, Ezra's quivering arm, shaking under the weight of the steel door. However, she continued to slowly pry it open, until there was just enough room for each of them to slide through it sideways. Using hand motions, Ezra beckoned Sam after her, and without another look, she slid feet first, sideways through the crack. Sam followed her lead, and when she looked up next, Ezra was closing the door back, slowly once more, and trying to quietly pry the large, rusty keys out of its lock. Sam looked up, shielding her eyes with her hand. There was a single, yellow and very dusty light bulb illuminating the long velvet hallway.

"Now, you probably won't like this next part, but I don't know any other way", Ezra whispered in a low and stern voice.

Sam peered at her.

"What is it?"

Ezra pointed to a room at the end of the hallway. Following her finger, Sam saw a brightly lit cell, packed with items. Even squinting her eyes, it was difficult to tell exactly what was inside but what was for sure was that it wasn't your ordinary cell. It had…Sam stared even harder, trying to make out one object in particular. It had..…a refrigerator! Yes! Just looking at the dingy white box Sam began to realize exactly how hungry and thirsty she really was. Her mouthy watered…just thinking about the possibilities inside. For a moment, there was silence. Then, sensing that Sam had drifted off, Ezra nudged her arm.

"We don't have long!" She whispered in a stern and raspy voice. "That's the guards' room. Believe it or not we're lucky. It's usually on the other side of the castle, but they placed you close, so as to keep an eye on you." Ezra smiled. "I guess that one backfired, huh?"

Sam smiled back. Wait….they were in a ….castle? Just then, a clanging came from next door. Sam jerked her head towards the sound. Ezra held her breath, and exhaled heavily.

"We're gonna have to speed things up." Ezra eyed Sam cautiously. "Now, what you might not like is that we must distract the guards before advancing any further. I know you're anxious and all but we have to get them out of that room." Ezra eyed Sam to see if she was still listening, and then continued. "That's because what we want, is in that room."

Just then the sounds coming from inside of the cell next door echoed, ending in a clamor and finally….silence. Ezra's raspy breath stopped. Sam glanced at her. She looked tense, and focused ahead of her. Facing the room at the end of the hall, Sam saw a figure stir and lock its surprised eyed with hers. Ezra jumped in fear at the guard that was starting to draw nearer, trying to get a better look at Ezra and Sam in the dim hallway. The muscles in Sam's arm tensed as she struggled to remain perfectly still in her cramped position. Stealing a side glance at Ezra from the corner of her eye, Sam could see the fear in her eyes as she tried to do the same. All was silent. Just then…._Snap!_...with an electrical crack, the swinging yellow light bulb fell from its sloppy duct tape mount and came crashing to the ground with a loud sizzle and a bright pop. In the split second just before the bulb plummeted to the ground, its yellow light managed to illuminate Ezra's face. He recognized her. The guard jolted up, grabbing a tickler and charging towards them both. Sam sprang to her feet, fumbling over Ezra. In the middle of the frightening hustle, there was a clang and as Ezra cried out in despair, a metallic sliding. Fear set into Sam's heart like a cold fog. Ezra had dropped the keys.

"Try again!" Danny was desperately urging Cathy to once more try to slide her hand under the very narrow crack separating the cell door and the grimy floor.

"Danny…I don't know how much more of this I can take", Cathy glanced at him worriedly, cradling her tired and sore Rhapsodian hand against her sweaty body. This would be the eighth time that day that she'd tried to stretch her hand narrow enough to slide under the grimy door, in hopes of unlocking it from the outside. "Besides", Cathy sighed with a look of despair towards Danny, "What id after all this we just figure out that it's locked from the outside too, and we need keys to get out?" Danny was shaking his head, his face in his dirty palm, facing the floor.

"God, why can't this just end?" Danny half signed and half whispered. He laid his back against the dirty cell wall and slid down it until he was lying against it in a defeated heap against the wall. Cathy sighed again, fighting to hold back the salty tears that she could feel building up. She glanced across the cell only to see a clueless Chris, also looking defeated. He'd been quiet for the most of the day, and Cathy was starting to worry. He caught her glance and smiled a little, turning his attention to stare at the door, as if he hadn't already done enough of that. Just then, a clamor rose outside of the cell. Chris' back erected from against the wall, sitting up straight with a jolt, his mind focused completely now on the cell door. It had been silent outside of the cell since they'd arrived. He was yearning to figure out the source of the commotion that now arose. Over by the door, Danny and Cathy were both struggling to see outside through the narrow crack. Just then…_Clang!..._Cathy's bright blue eyes widened in surprise as she squinted and saw that the impossible had become possible. Keys. They were old, rusty and very loud, but they were keys. They meant freedom. They meant escape, which meant Sam. Without saying a word, Cathy immediately began to rapidly stretch out her hand, her face wincing as her body struggled to ignore the pain of the over stretched muscles. Danny's face beckoned for an explanation at her sudden actions, seeing as he, of course, hadn't seen the keys, seeing as he'd been staring at her against the wall as opposed to actually thinking up a plan of escape. Cathy jammed her hand under the crack. It was a tight fit, a very tight fit, but as she struggled, Cathy soon felt the rusted metal against her fingertips.

"Yes!" She screamed and with all her might pulled backwards. There was a…_Snap!_...and when she sat up, Cathy found herself with her back against the opposite wall, and in her dirty hands, a rusted pair of keys. A smile broke through the grime on her face, and Danny laughed. Cries of despair could be heard outside the cell. The battle was not yet over.

"No!" Ezra stared down at the spot on the grimy floor where their one and only chance at escape once laid. The keys, they must've slid under the door. Sam saw the situation as if it were in slow motion. The guard was now barreling towards them both, tickler in hand, and they had nowhere to run. But wait….Sam tried hard to unveil what was itching in her mind as she and Ezra stood there, frozen, at a dead end. Something had happened when those keys disappeared….something…strange. Or at least she thought. What was it? Her heart had skipped a beat….but why? By now the guard had advanced on Ezra, staring at her in disbelief. Sam's eyes widened. A hand. There had been a hand that grabbed the keys in an instance and jerked them back under the door. Sam knew how narrow that crack was under the cell door. Her heart skipped. It was as if someone had…stretched their….—

"Cathy!" Sam's voice cut into the still air like a knife through butter.

A voice echoed just outside their cell…..

"_CATHY!"_

Cathy's skin crawled. That voice belonged to Sam. She knew it anywhere. In an instant Chris was at the cell door, his ear pressed against its dirty surface, begging for another sound, anything, begging for the voice to say his name next. In an moment he was helping Cathy sort through the many keys, until they ran across one that's color, shape and size matched that of the cell door. Cathy handed Chris the keys with a wink, whispering, "Would you do us the honors?" Chris beamed with a blissful smile and snatched the keys from her hand, ramming them into the steel door. He turned them, with a loud creak and all the strength that his skinny arms possessed. With the help of Danny, he pulled backwards and there crouched an open mouthed Sam, a bewildered guard, and a rather filthy girl.

THANK YOU! For reading yet another chapter of Unknown Love! :D REVIEW! [please]. I hope you guys like it. I know it's been forever since I've updated. But hey, it's summer time! Expect more. ~ Katie


	17. Chapter 17

Author's Note!

Hey guys, before you read Chapter 17, I just wanted to say sorry for not being able to update very often. I know that before I posted Chapter 16, it had been like a year since I last updated my story and I just wanted to apologize because I know it's not fair to all of you faithful readers and reviewers who are always cheering me on to write, that I can't even upload on time But I seem to be having much more time to write lately, so expect more chapters I'm sure I'll be finishing up the story this summer. Any suggestions for my next story? Please don't ever stop reading or reviewing, I couldn't do it without you guys On with Chappie 17!

Chapter 17

The light from the guard room illuminated the hallway.

Time seemed to be standing still. Even now, when she was crouching in fear, with a grimy face, Chris could see the beauty in her hazel eyes. They sparkled.

"Ah!" In the midst of his daydream, Chris had been caught off guard and knocked down to the ground by the guard.

"Get back in there! Back to your cell! NOW!" The guard was enraged and surprised at the sudden entourage of kids looming at his feet. "Gonna need to call for back-up" Just as he was fending off Danny's attack with the tickler, the guard reached for what looked like a walkie, strapped to his belt on his waist. Cathy, seeing this potential danger immediately snatched it from his belt, tossing it to Danny, who flung it against the wall, shattering it to pieces, leaving a mechanical hissing mound on the ground. The guard turned to face the two of them, dumbfounded.

"Bring it on" Cathy smirked at the guard, taking a stance, Danny by her side.

"SAM!"Chris ran towards her, leaving the cell's doorway and minimizing the distance between them. He could feel his own heart pounding as if it were in his ears.

"Chris" Sam whispered, hardly believing what she saw in front of her, her feet as if they were frozen to the ground, not moving, but watching an excited Chris fling himself onto her, engulfing her in a bone-crushing hug. "CHRIS!" Sam threw her arms around the skinny sweaty boy who was clinging to her as if she were life itself. Her face felt as if it were going to break with her smile, her cheek muscles stretching to their limit as she giggled. She held him in her arms, never wanting to let go. Finally, he released her, turning to steal a look at the fight going on between Cathy, Danny and the guard. They were going to need assistance soon. But until then….Chris turned to face Sam, his heart still pounding. Sam stared at him in, overjoyed, holding tight to his hand.

"You're alive! All of you! You're all….alive!" Sam jumped up and down with her surprise towards him. Chris stared back at her and smiled, revealing a surprisingly white set of teeth in comparison to his ruffed up hair, torn clothing and dirty face. But he was still cute. Very cute. Chris flung himself back into Sam's arms for one last hug. This time he wouldn't lose her. He wouldn't ever lose her again.

"God I missed you" he whispered in her ear. Sam could feel chills run up her spine at his voice and his warm breath against her ear.

"I-I missed you too" Sam said quietly.

"Umm, guys….can we save the lovefest for later? Ah!" Danny found himself being flung into the wall, and thrashed upon by the tickler. Cathy was tugging at the guard's back, trying to get him off, but to no avail. Sam, reluctantly taking one last look at Chris, moved in.

"AHH!" With her war cry, she snatched the tickler from the guard's hands, with force, and proceeded to cracking it over the back of his head. With a groan, the guard's body tumbled to the ground, vibrating the floor momentarily. The tickler lay beside its defeated master, split into two. Sam caught her breath. No one was ever going to hurt her friends again. Not on her watch. Danny's voice cut through the silence.

"Now that's what I'm talking about!" Sam bound over to him and Cathy and pulled them both into a tight hug.

"Oh you two!" Sam squeezed even harder, and heard Cathy giggle and Danny moan under his breath at the constriction. "I missed you so much!" Sam let go and Cathy smiled at her.

"I missed you too" She smiled sweetly at Sam. And it was then that she knew, Cathy must've been possessed that night, when she'd run off by herself. Sam smiled back.

"It's good to have you back Cath"

"You too, silly!" Cathy's bubbly voiced echoed in the hall. Chris walked over next to Danny and Cathy, and Danny high fived the two of them. The gang was back together again. Sam gave a small smile.

"We have a lot to talk about." Cathy said, smiling a bit.

"True that" Chris said behind her, leaning against the wall, smiling at Sam. The four of them laughed. Just then a barely audible moan could be heard from the guard on the floor, as he stirred ever so slightly. Sam felt someone tap her on the shoulder. She turned around to face a somewhat dazed Ezra.

"I have an idea" she whispered.

Soon Sam found herself, along with the rest of the team, dragging the guard's half unconscious body into the empty cell and dropping it with an exhausted _THUD!_ Sam sighed and turned to face an eager Ezra standing in the cell doorway watching the process, waiting for them.

"That was a good idea!" Cathy said to Ezra, tilting her head up to see her. Ezra smiled.

"Hey, no offense" Danny said, climbing up the cell steps, the rest of the tem following him and facing Ezra at the top "but who are you exactly?" Ezra grinned and faced Sam, waiting for an answer. Sam smiled.

"She's a friend" Sam recalled her encounter with Ezra and how they had ended up in the cell together to the rest of the team as they leaned against the wall, waiting for Ezra to finish pulling the cell door containing the guard shut and locking it. The team stared in awe back at Sam. Chris was mildly amused. Then, as if she'd remembered something very important, Sam told them about the tickerbot incident with Danny and Chris. Danny laughed, though Chris seemed disturbed hearing the recollection. He shuddered at the thought. Then the questions came all at once.

"Wow, so you guys broke out?"

"So THAT'S how we got the cell keys? How ironic!"

"Jeremy is behind all of this?"

"He's not getting Cathy!"

"Dang, Jeremy's smart enough to program human tickerbots? We underestimated that nerd…"

"What's next?" Chris turned to face Sam. Sam turned to face Ezra, leaning against the opposite wall with the rusted keys clutched tightly in hand, who sighed and pointed once again at the room ahead of them.

"Hopefully we can go unnoticed this time?" She said quietly, a smile across her face. She led the way, quietly slinking against the wall, guiding them to the guard room. They followed in single file, against the wall, Sam at the back of the line. Chris slipped out of line, letting Cathy skip him and made his way to the back behind Sam.

"Hey" he lowly whispered. Sam turned around to face his smiling face. He was so cute.

"Hey" Sam whispered back. Chris stayed behind her the rest of the way, and Sam felt somewhat more at ease and protected with him there, even though she knew he couldn't fight to save his own life. Strange, huh?

"Stop" Sam could every so faintly hear Ezra's whisper and see her small hand motion for the team to stop behind her. All was silent. Ezra tiptoed up to the room, breathing heavily and suddenly thrust her head into the doorway, checking the room. She slinking in, stepping over items in her way. The doorway was empty and the team was left alone in the hall. Sam jumped at the sound of thrashing in a cell door further down the hall to their left. Everyone starred down the dark hallway, keeping silent. Danny and Cathy exchanged looks of concern and they all jumped at the sound of muffled screams further down the hall. Ezra's head pocked back out of the doorway and she nodded her head, signaling then to follow her. First Danny, then Cathy, and Sam. Once inside she immediately turned around and helped Chris in.

"We're here" Ezra murmured. The room was strange, but Ezra seemed to know just where they were, so Sam wasn't complaining. The walls were peeling with rotten, old paint, and strips of tape with dead flied and bugs hung from the ceiling, fluttering with the breeze of a fan in the corner. There were two large lounge-looking chairs, seated in front of a small television screen, which produced nothing but soft static. There were two skinny beds against the right wall, with dirty sheets thrown around on top of them. The floor was concrete and cracked, and very dirty and dusty. Peering over Danny's head, Sam could see a line of combat boots against the left wall, at the foot of an old, beat up looking closet, which was half open and contained rough looking jackets, and in a narrow container in the closet corner Sam could see a collection of ticklers. Ezra moved in further, and the team spread around, surveying their new location.

"We'd better make this quick" Ezra said in a low voice. "They take shifts" she said, motioning to one of the lounge chairs, in which sat a half eaten bag of chips and the TV remote. Looks like their guard had been on break. "It won't be long now so stock up" she said moving towards the sagging beds against the right wall. Danny, of course, immediately grabbed a sack out of the foot of the closet and headed towards the refrigerator. He eased the door open and carefully selected and rationed food and drink for them, placing it carefully in the sack. Chris walked past Sam and headed straight towards a decrepit looking computer in the far corner of the room that Sam hadn't even noticed. That boy sure did have a knack for technology. However, he crouched and opened a drawer at the computer's desk. Smiling, came back up with another set of keys.

"I'm gonna need those" Ezra said across the room. She was crouching at the foot of the bed, and reaching under it. She came up with an odd looking chest. Sam could see that the front of it was locked. Chris tossed her the keys, she caught them and inserted one into the lock, and twisted. The chest clicked and she hurriedly flung it open. Chris and Sam were hovering over her. There was the good stuff. Ezra looked up at Sam and grinned. She was right. What they needed was in this room. Chris kneeled down next to her, a sack in hand, and rummaged through the chest. Sam surveyed everything they were pulling out. Chris put a wide variety of items into his sack. In the chest there were lighters, batteries, what looked like a pair of ship keys, small and large lightweight retractable knives, something that looked like an upgraded metallic blaster, a map, and miniature tickerbots, amongst other items. In Ezra's hand there was another map, for what Sam did not know. As they continued to fill their sack and choose what to take and what to leave, Sam left Chris and Ezra at the chest, as they began a light conversation about Sam and Ezra's escape. Walking around the room, Sam seemed to be the only one who wasn't investigating/stealing from the room. She eyed Danny, who was still at the fridge and Cathy, who was keeping watch at the doorway. She flashed Sam and thumbs up, thinking she was checking for whether the coast is clear. Sam smiled and returned the gesture, wandering over to the closet, looking for something good. They didn't have much time and she knew it. She was urging herself to find something truly remarkable and of use. Just then, something caught her eye, in the floor of the closet. Five V-coms. They surely weren't like their old V-coms either. They were thin and sleek, with hidden buttons along their side grooves. Sam picked one up in shock and examined it thoroughly. Yep. They were V-coms alright. She pressed a button and the metallic contraption lit up, producing a sleek and elaborate hologram of herself. Sam jumped back in surprise. She liked it. There was really no telling what else they could do. A clamor could be heard in the room from a cell down the dark hallway. Sam turned her head. Ezra froze. Chris was rummaging through his sack, checking things he'd collected. Danny was seated in a lounge chair nonchalantly. Cathy turned from the doorway. "Okay guys" She said lowly. "Try to wrap it up. Things are getting loud down there and a guard will be here any minute to quiet to commotion back down."

"Ready" Danny called to her from his seat, the rationed bag of food and drink in the seat next to him.

"Hold on" Chris called out. He was double checking his sack to be sure of its contents.

"Okay ready" Ezra rose from her crouch and stretched.

"No." Sam rose up "We're not ready yet" She brought 5 pairs of slightly beat up combat boots and the 5 V-coms to the middle of the floor. "Hurry." Sam beckoned everyone but Cathy near to retrieve both a pair of boots and a V-com. Cathy insisted that Sam bring her pair to her at the door rather than leaving her lookout post for fear that they might be caught. Sam took her spot as she laced up the dark brown boots and in awe slid on the new V-com.

"These are amazing!" Cathy exclaimed. The boots were a bit too big for her feet but Cathy was only interested in survival. Sam crouched and laced up her own boots and placed the V-com on her left arm. It started to beep and Sam jumped at its loud sound. She instructed everyone to place them on low vibrate instead and pressed the red button to receive whoever was calling her. Chris' face appeared in her V-com. Sam smiled.

"Just making sure this thing works" Chris said and smiled at Sam, disconnecting the call. Sam looked up smiling across the room. There was Chris, sitting in a lounge chair beside Danny, as Cathy was rapidly trying to teach Ezra about the V-com.

"By the way, it's nice meeting you" she said quietly and smiled a bit at Ezra.

"Ditto" Danny called from across the room.

"Yeah, I'm not sure any of us knew about this place otherwise" Chris said. Ezra smiled at Cathy and the rest of the team.

"Thank you" she said quietly with a big smile. Sounds from the dark hall were escalating. They should get going.

"Let's move out" Sam called across the room. Cathy and Ezra walked over to the doorway and Chris rose from his seat.

"Wait" Danny said and ducked his head into the closet.

"I thought you were ready" Sam called back teasingly. "But seriously Danny, we gotta go or else this will all be for nothing when they catch us" Danny came to the door with 5 ticklers in his hand.

"Sweet!" Ezra said in an excited voice she jumped up to catch it as Danny tossed everyone a stick. Sam smiled. Ezra was eager for revenge. Chris, Ezra and Danny pulled the straps out of their sacks and pulled them closed, wearing them as backpacks.

"Now we're ready" Danny said looking satisfied.

The five of them lined up and Chris was right on Sam's heels as they set out, once again slinking against the dark hallway, as the noises grew louder.

Thanks for reading! :D Please don't forget to review; I'd love to know what you think! ~Katie


	18. Chapter 18

Chappie 18! :D Read on :D Enjoy and review ~ Katie

It was dead silence. That is, apart from the loud sounds erupting within the cell across from them. Sam, like the others, kept her back against the wall, as they proceeded to rapidly slink down the hallway. Ezra was leading them to Jeremy's study. Although everyone was beyond eager to just leave the evil place, according to Ezra she'd learned the hard way that all exits and everything else about the castle was controlled by Jeremy, and was located in his study. She'd explained to the group on their way down the hall that not a single exit could even be opened without his consent. As they made their way past the loud cell and continued to quietly yet rapidly move down the hallway, Sam thought back to her first day in Jeremy's study. That explained all of the camera monitors. Jeremy typically keeps an eye on all of the exits, explaining how he knows when to sound the alarm. Sam was tempted to just take her friends and make a run for it but she had no idea where to go. Besides, she needed to face Jeremy for all of his crappy scheming. Her heart surged with anger at the fact that he was the cause of all of this. All of her pain, sorrow, torture and loneliness….was from him. Yes. He had to pay. Sam could only shudder at how Ezra must feel towards him, being trapped here for so long. Besides, Sam couldn't deny Ezra her revenge. Footsteps could be heard ahead, but the five of them continued down the hallway. Sam felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned her head slightly, as they passed under another dim yellow light. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Chris.

"Here" he whispered, and into her hand she felt him slip her one of the retractable knives. Sam smiled.

"Thanks" she said. Sam could see that Ezra already had a small knife in her hand, poised for attack. They came to the corner of the hallway. Sam's heart was pounding as the footsteps grew louder as the approached. All five of them were against the wall, weapons ready and in stance for attack. As the steps neared, Sam could hear that there was actually a second set. The steps halted abruptly before the corner. Sam could tell by the tone in their voices that they were guards, and they were unaware of their presence around the corner. Sam could just make out enough of the conversation.

The first guard sounded a little disturbed and frightened. "Kids….loose in the castle?"

The second guard answered him. "That's what master said. He's furious you know"

"Oh I know. I wonder what he'll do to them."

"Oh God, I don't even…."

"I hope he doesn't kill any. Like that one incident. But one escaped. I wonder where she is right now."

"Green eyes? "

"Yeah the one with the limp"

"Well no more are gonna get past. Not on my watch. Didn't you hear what happened to the guard in Wing F? Just disappeared on break."

"That's scary stuff right there"

"Tell me about it"

"Well you're right about one thing, no more can get by. There's no telling what master will do to us."

"Yeah I'm not about to get killed over some dumb kids"

"Let's just keep watch here for the night"

With that the hall fell silent again. Ezra, not bold enough to steal a peek around the corner, ever so gently backed up and gestured for the others to quietly huddle around her. In such a faint voice Sam had to lean in to hear it.

"I'll distract them. Someone needs to get the walkies from them so they don't call for back up."

Danny and Cathy exchanged looks and Cathy leaned in saying "We're on it"

Ezra nodded slightly and paused. Then she continued and asked "Who has the underground map?" There was an awkward pause and Chris pulled out the small map, rolled neatly.

"I never knew what it was for" he whispered to Ezra, leaning in.

"Why do we need an underground map?" Sam couldn't help but ask. Ezra looked up confused.

"Because the castle is underground" Sam swallowed hard. Wow. Ezra, however, continued with the plan.

"Now then" she whispered "those guards are just around the corner" she eyed Sam and Chris. "We can't let them see us again. You two disable the cameras before I move in. Jeremy's study is in the tower that goes above ground. It's the only part of the castle that's above ground, and don't worry I have the above ground map to the ships. Did any of you grab ship keys?" Ezra surveyed the group. Chris nodded. "Alright take these." Ezra pulled out a miniature bow and arrow from her sack and gave it to Sam. Chris had the metallic blaster. "Now go and be quick." Ezra backed up so that Sam and Chris were waiting just around the corner. Sam gave a nervous sigh.

"You ready" she asked Chris, who was poised behind her.

"Wait" he whispered. He pressed 3 keys on his V-com and with a soft beep a hologram of the hallway around the corner appeared hovering over his arm. "There are 2 cameras. One on the close left and another on the far right." Sam stared open mouthed. An A-scanner built into the V-com! These things really were high-tech. She eyed Chris with a small smile. Just his speed. "I'll take the left and you run down and get the right" Sam nodded in a daze. "Good luck' he whispered. And with that, Chris and Ezra were both gone, around the corner the guards emitted something between a swear and a cry as they stared in surprise at Ezra. They recognized her.

"One that lived" A guard whispered, right before Ezra beat him across his face with her tickler. She grinned. Revenge never felt so good. The other guard was on her in a moment, and they one that had been struck was recovering behind him and advancing. Danny and Cathy moved in. Sam turned away from the fight to proceed with her assigned task. She sprinted to the end of the hallway, her breaths short and raspy, almost reminding her of Ezra's. _The air down here sucks_, she thought to herself. She was lingering right below the camera, yet it hadn't sensed her movement. _I'm in its blind spot_ she thought. She quickly removed a thin arrow from her pack and mounted it into the bow. Then, with poise, she released it, and it went flying into the 'heart' of the camera. There was a static hissing, and then it fell to the ground, smashed. Sam pulled back out her arrow and put it back into her pack. Sam turned around to see that Chris had already disabled his camera, and was now helping Danny, Cathy and Ezra fend off the guards' attacks. Sam ran down to find to smashed walkies against the wall.

"Ahhh!" A guard had used one of its immense arms to pick up Cathy and was about to throw her to the ground. Sam pulled out her knife and with her war cry she stabbed the guard in his lower back. He groaned and fell to the ground, to be dragged into the cell behind them by Danny and Cathy. Ezra unlocked the cell with the keys and heaved the door open for them to deposit both guards' bodies, and then, with Sam's help, she pushed it back closed and relocked it. Success. Ezra sighed. Sam looked around the hallway. Though out of breath, the rest of the team seemed to be recovering well from the battle, and ready to pursue their next one.

Ezra pointed ahead, saying "Good work. We need to access this elevator. Chris, I need to see your map." Chris handed it to her and the rest of the team huddled around. Sam's mouth opened in surprise. The map was incredulous. It depicted every hallway, guard room, closet and cell in the castle. Taking a closer look, Sam could see what appeared to be a tower at the far end of the castle, opposite of them. The very top of the tower poked its head above ground. The exit. "Like I said" Ezra continued, "the castle is underground. This is the underground map. I heard about it when I was still prisoner. There were guards that would talk about it all the time. They said that when Jeremy made the castle he only made one map of it. Many guards said that it was only a myth, but I guess not." Ezra smiled.

"Wow" Chris stared at the masterpiece of a map in her hands. It truly was an intricate work of art, with much detail.

"According to the map" Ezra continued with the plan, "we are in Wing E. WE need to take this elevator to come up onto Wing D, and then at the end of that hall, we will find one last elevator, which will take us either up to Jeremy's study, ….or down to the steam room." Ezra paused. "Steam room" She repeated. "I never heard of that place."

Chris eyed the map a bit more closely. "It says trapdoor right there in little letters" he pointed to the floor beneath the elevator that would take them up to Jeremy's study, which was also the ceiling to a tiny steam room. Ezra looked at the tiny room on the map, puzzled. She'd never been in there before. Oh well.

"Let's go" Sam looked over to see Danny at the elevator with his foot in it, waiting for the others to follow. "To Jeremy's study to kick nerd butt!" Danny grinned and thrust his fist into the air triumphantly. Everyone crammed into the tiny elevator. Chris was humming to himself. He was in the back beside Sam.

"Oh yeah" he said quietly as if he'd forgotten something. "This is for you" From his sack he produced a green pendant, diamonds surrounding the large green emerald. Sam gasped. It was beautiful.

"Where did you get that" She asked.

Chris smiled. "It was in the chest in the guard room. I figured you might like it. He put it around Sam's neck and it shimmered. Sam blushed and Chris smiled.

They reached the floor above them, Wing D. Carefully and quietly stepping out of the elevator, the team lined up against the surprisingly empty long hallway. The hell was completely silent. Sam could see the elevator at the end of the hall, and made a run for it. The rest of the team and Ezra were close on her heels. In a few moments, Sam was face to face with the elevator, when a disturbance entered the hall.

"No, no , no!" Everyone froze. The voice belonged to Jeremy. The guards were right about one thing. He was enraged. And he was coming. Sam eyed from her peripheral vision a narrow staircase beside the elevator that went up into what she assumed was his study. He was coming down into the hallway from his study. And they had nowhere to run. Nowhere to go but down. Danny quickly pressed the down button on the elevator.

"What?" Cathy hissed at him.

"We have no other choice" Chris whispered. The footsteps were nearing. "We'll just hide down there until he leaves, then it's to the study."

"Never send a guard to do a master's work! I tell you, I've had enough. But hey, killing them will be my honor, I'm not complaining." Jeremy was getting closer. The elevator appeared. They all crammed inside. Just as the doors were closing behind them, Sam could make out a dingy shoe stepping out from the stairwell into the hallway. And then the elevator was taking them down. Down into the steam room.

I'd love to know what you think! Don't you just love cliffhangers? :D haha ~ Katie


	19. Chapter 19

Get comfy and read on! Yet another chappie, prepare yourself! Enjoy and review! :D

Chapter 19

The stench that filled the crammed elevator as the five of them were lowered into the bright steam room was indescribable. Ezra's muscles tightened as the smell filled the small space. Sam recognized it too. It the same stench she'd smelled when she was first in Jeremy's study. Except stronger. Ezra looked focused and alert as she took in the stench.

"The smell" she whispered. Behind her Danny was trying not to gag as he, Cathy and Chris covered their noses, wincing at the strong smell. Ezra continued, as the elevator jolted to a halt. "I've smelt it before. Yes. When the other prisoners in my cell and Delilah were taken." Loud sounds could be heard outside the now opening elevator doors. The doors separated, revealing the room ahead of them, which contained large boilers and there was a dense fog covering the ceiling. The large boiler machines were at work and quite loud. Ezra cautiously stepped out of the elevator and into room. She gazed around, immediately shielding her eyes. The room was very bright.

"Woah" Sam murmured, also stepping out, and shielding her eyes with her left hand. The walls were white, and there were high voltage white lights beaming through the fog down onto them. Danny and Cathy stepped out and stood behind Sam. Chris was still in the elevator. His V-com beeped and Sam knew that he'd run an A-scan of the room.

"Guys" he said looking up at Sam and Ezra. "There's something strange in the back. Not dangerous but it's giving off a weird vibe" Ezra looked around herself.

"I've never been in here" she said lowly in disbelief. "All this time on the run….never have I even seen this place." Sam gave her a light rub on the back, stepping forward, also dazed.

"Let's move" she said, her voice echoing in the small room. They walked towards to back of the room cautiously. The fog started to clear and Sam could see what looked like a cell door. She stopped and looked back at Ezra. She came to the front with Sam and they faced the cell door together. Inside a faint humming could be barely heard over the thrashing of the boilers. Sam leaned against the cell door and put her ear to the crack. The soft humming continued, not knowing of the presence outside its door. It was a girl's voice. The rest of the team huddled around the cell door. Ezra's face went blank.

"I…I know that song" She pushed past the rest of the team and put her own ear to the door and listening. She closed her eyes and smiled. "It's her. It's Delilah." She backed away from the door and produced her rusty set of keys from her sack. The humming stopped, hearing for the first time the unusual sounds outside its cell. Then the small voice spoke.

"Master….I apologize. I'll be quiet next time. Please….please….master….I'm sorry."

"Hey" Danny looked up at Ezra, who was in the process of unlocking one of the 5 padlocks on the cell door. "Are you sure about this?" Ezra looked at Danny, surprised.

"Yes. It's her. And that's our song. We created it when we imprisoned together. It's her." Danny sighed and looked at Cathy, who shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm saying how do we know we can trust her?" Danny said cautiously. Ezra looked at Danny from the corner of her eye and continued to unlock the door, despite the imprisoned girl's pleas.

"I'm sure" she said quietly. Sam backed away from the door and stood beside Chris, watching the situation. Finally the cell was unlocked. The small voice inside stopped crying, awaiting its fate. Ezra, with Danny and Cathy's help, pulled the heavy door back, revealing a dirty, chained girl in the corner. She had dingy and wild brown hair and light freckles on her cheeks. She had the brightest green eyes. She was who Ezra had described to Sam as Delilah. She timidly looked up at Ezra. Her face dropped, in shock. She recognized her. Sam and the rest of the team watched from the doorway as Ezra, also surprised, stepped into the cell, slowly. Delilah's mouth was moving but no sound was coming out as she watched from her chained corner, as Ezra neared her. They were about a foot apart now. Both of them just staring at each other- speechless.

"It's….it's…"Delilah couldn't seem to complete her sentence.

"It's you" Ezra said quietly. She looked down into the dumbfounded girl's green eyes with a smile. And then a quiet little tear slipped silently from the corner of Delilah's eye. Ezra pulled her into a warm embrace and momentarily let go, turning to beckon the rest of the team into the cell with her. She took out her keys and unlocked the chains around Delilah's arms and legs. Delilah looked cautiously at the rest of the team.

"He brought you here too?" she asked Sam quietly, looking to the others as well. Sam nodded. Delilah looked down and then back at the team, Ezra crouching by her side. "Do you know why?" Delilah asked after a moment of silence The team exchanged looks and Chris and Sam both shook their heads no. Even Ezra didn't know why Jeremy had taken her. Delilah looked down again, huddled in the dirty cell corner and then, smiling a bit, she continued. "You know, he spilled it once. When he first took me." Her wild brown hair was a mess and concealed most of her neck, but she continued. "I kept asking and asking him why I was here until he finally just lost it and told me everything." She eyed Cathy with concern. "I think it's her" she whispered to Ezra, who looked back at her, clearly confused. Delilah sighed, realizing that she was the only one with any idea of Jeremy's plan. Then she told the Ezra and the team.

"He takes others….other…kids. It's because he needs more emotion…for his prototypes." She turned to Ezra. "He's a mad genius, you know" she said quietly. Chris nodded in agreement. "Well", she continued, "he's been trying to create emotion. All on his own. Sadness, Anger, Fear, Loneliness, Jealousy, everything." Ezra sighed. "He just doesn't get it. Feelings can't be…created. Not like that. He actually just finished a Hate prototype not too long ago." She looked down again.

"How do you know?" Ezra asked Delilah. She paused and reluctantly answered.

"He tries them out of me. I'm his 'guinea pig'." The small cell fell silent. Just then a small sound came from Chris' V-com. Sam turned to look at him.

"Um guys something's going on upstairs" he said studying the A-scanner in his V-com. Sam, however, had bigger things on her mind.

"Why?" she asked, drawing nearer to where Ezra and Delilah were sitting in the cell corner. Delilah looked up at Sam and then focused on her pendant.

"Where did you get that?" she asked, unknowingly changing the subject. Sam looked down and blushed lightly.

"Oh…um, Chris he—"

"I found it in the guard's room" Chris said gently interrupting her. Delilah looked at him, pausing, and then said

"It's mine. Or at least…it was mine." Sam looked down at her pendant and back at Delilah and reached to take it off but Delilah's hand stopped her.

"Don't" she said with a small smile. "Keep it. Keep it to remember this place and me once…well if you all escape." Sam smiled a bit.

"Thanks."

"Anyway" Delilah continued, "the master told me that he needed to create raw editions of emotion, in order to combine them to produce a love prototype. He said that it was for his love. Someone named…Catherine. He said she had crystal clear blue eyes and beautiful blonde hair and fair skin. She's the one." And with that she eyed Cathy once more, who was in shock, frozen. Delilah continued on "he must first create all other major emotions, in order to then mix them correctly to produce his Love prototype."

"How does he get these emotions?" Ezra butted in.

"He drains them. From those who have much of it. Children. That's why he took them. That's why he took me and that's why he took you. Look." Delilah pointed through the cell doorway and into the bright and foggy steam room at the boiler, churning away. Everyone casted their eyes on the hard at work boilers and turned back to Delilah in question, confused. "He brings them here from their cells, usually with meal bins or stretchers. Those boilers mix the drained emotions and separate them from bodily fluids. The bodily fluids are extracted and disposed here, hence the stench. He usually likes to 'harvest' them by creating certain situations to ripen a specific emotion in a child." Sam swallowed. That explains the torture she'd endured all the way here. She thought back to the hate prototype she'd spotted in Jeremy's study when she first arrived. That's it. In order to create love you must first hate. He needed her raw emotions. Sorrow, angst, anger, loneliness, everything. He'd created all of it within Sam and held her here in the castle. Harvesting her until she was ready to be purged. Sam shuddered at the fate she'd so closely avoided. Her and friends. Them and Ezra. But she looked down at Delilah. What was her story? Delilah smiled, sensing the question.

"Like I said, he realized that I knew the truth about what was going on, so he decided purging me would be useless, and he just decided to use me as his 'guinea pig' for prototypes. It's hell, you know. He comes in, syringe and bottle in hand. Forces me down and injects it. And the next minute I'm sad, or angry or jealous, for no reason. He takes notes and then leaves. He just leaves me here. Do you realize what you all have done?" She scanned at faces in the cell. "You all have done something truly miraculous, by escaping." Ezra smiled. "Many have tried, few have succeeded."

"Well" Chris said quietly "it's not over yet. He knows we're missing. He knows we've come for him, and that we've come to overthrow him to escape. He knew we'd be here. He's actually waiting above the elevator right now" Sam gasped, and Danny turned to look at Chris in disbelief. Chris nodded solemnly. "A-scan says he waiting for us to come up right now". Sam sighed. Well, it was now or never. Ezra frantically continued the conversation with Delilah, who was surprisingly calm.

"But wait, why does he want a love prototype? What is he going to do with it?" Delilah looked up and pointed to Cathy.

"He wants her to fall in love with him." Danny groaned, his face in his palm. Quiet tears slipped silently from Cathy's eyes.

"But…but I don't love him" Cathy whimpered. Delilah shook her head, lightly chuckling.

"It doesn't matter. After that injection you will." Ezra gave Delilah one last tight hug.

"You're too weak to accompany us and I know that. But don't worry. I'm coming back for you." And with a reassuring smile Ezra turned and headed for the elevator. The team followed her hesitantly. Sam could feel her stomach flipping. Chris cut to the back of the line and grabbed her hand. His palms were sweaty.

"Good luck" Sam could hear Delilah's faint voice over the clamor of the boilers as they steadily followed Ezra, Danny and a fear stricken Cathy to the elevator shaft. Danny pressed the down button and pulled Cathy into a long reassuring hug, to no avail, and whispered reassurance in her ear, but the fear did not subside and tears continued to slip by. Cathy looked up and back at Danny and threw herself back into his arms once more. Chris held Sam's hand tighter. Sam swallowed and smiled up at him.

"You've got this" he said quietly. Sam smiled and shakily responded.

"Thanks" She said quietly. Chris nodded.

"And I've got you." He clutched her hand and Sam looked up at him. He was smiling, only a bit. She smiled and gave a nervous laugh. Then, almost as if they'd read each other's mind, they both jumped into a tight embrace. Sam buried her face into Chris' dirty blue shirt, and didn't realize she was crying until she felt the wet fabric. Only one thought seemed to ring in her mind. Anything can happen out there. Anything. Can. Happen. She breathed in his scent. Like freshly baked bread and honey. She didn't want to every let him go. Then, after what felt like forever, the elevator arrived. Apart from the boilers' clamor, there was silence among the group, excluding Cathy's sobs. The doors opened. Ezra stepped one foot into the elevator, and looking back with a mischievous grin she said sternly

"Time for revenge"

I know you all hate cliffhangers! Haha but I love it. Real drama starts next chapter! :O Review! :D ~ Katie


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